The flood situation due to four days of heavy rains has turned grim in Andhra Pradesh even as the death toll rose marginally to 25 by Sunday evening.
Briefing newsmen after a review meeting, Revenue Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao said that the government decided to pay ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh each to the families of those who died due to rains and floods. He said enumeration of the loss caused to crops and other private and public properties on account of the heavy rains would be taken up as soon as water started receding.
Several towns and cities in the state, including the port cities of Visakhapatnam and Kakinada, were inundated due to torrential rains. The Visakhapatnam airport remained waterlogged for the fourth consecutive day as the gushing waters from Mehadrigedda flooded the tarmac and the terminal building. All flights remained suspended. Officials said the airport would not be operational for the next three days.
The Indian navy deployed boats to rescue airport staff from the upper floors of the terminal building, which was under eight feet of water on Friday. Hundreds of people converged around the airport to see the submerged runway even as some persons went around 'fishing'. In fact, they managed to catch some fish, which found their way from Mehadrigedda reservoir.
The Hyderabad Meteorological Centre said the north-east monsoon has been active in the state due to the new low pressure area off the Visakhapatnam coast and the weakening low pressure trough over Rayalaseema.
The Meteorological Centre forecast moderate to rather heavy rains in Telangana and light to moderate rains in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions over the next 48 hours.
The revenue minister said the death toll of 25, included eight in Krishna district, six in Mahbubnagar, three in Guntur, two each in Anantapur and Kurnool, and one each in Nellore, Kadapa, Nalgonda and Karimnagar.
As many as 1,633 habitations in 103 mandals in 13 districts were affected due to the rains and 12,358 families were evacuated from vulnerable places and lodged in relief camps. Hundreds of houses were fully or partially damaged. Crops over an estimated 4 lakh acres were submerged in rain water.
The state authorities said rivulets, streams, drains and tanks overflowed and discharged flood waters into towns and villages. Traffic on national highways and state roads was affected due to damages and inundation at several places. However, train services remained unaffected so far.
There were huge inflows into all the major reservoirs in the state, including Sriramasagar on river Godavari and Jurala, Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar on river Krishna. Several villages and parts of Kurnool city were submerged due flash floods in Tungabhadra river. The Sunkesala barrage discharged flood flows.