Andhra Pradesh CM tours rain-hit areas; toll mounts to 53

Torrential rains and resultant deluge in 16 districts of Andhra Pradesh last week left 53 persons dead and caused a loss of Rs 3,756 crore, but the situation is returning to normal with floodwater receding.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy toured flood-hit areas in Prakasam and Guntur districts on Monday and announced that the sovernment would pay input subsidy at the rate of Rs 10,000 per hectare to farmers who lost their crops.

Permanent houses would be built under Indira Aawas Yojana for the families whose houses were destroyed in heavy rains and floods, he said.

Heavy rains and floods left a trail of destruction in 5,186 villages in 16 districts with West Godavari, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Krishna in coastal Andhra and Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda in Telangana suffering the most.

Guntur and Prakasam districts accounted for the maximum number of deaths (8 each), followed by Nalgonda (7), Mahbubnagar (6) and West Godavari (4), among others. Half a dozen persons were reported missing from Visakhapatnam, West Godavari, Krishna and Karimnagar districts, according to a release from the chief minister's office.

As per preliminary estimates, the rains and floods caused a loss of Rs 3,756 crore. Over 42,000 houses were damaged, while over 2.20 lakh persons have been moved to 384 relief camps, it said.

Crops in 11.37 lakh hectares, including cotton (5.97 lakh ha) and paddy (4.72 lakh ha), were damaged. Aquaculture suffered heavy loss with ponds in 184 hectares damaged due to floods. Handloom sector, too, was badly hit as pits were flooded in many districts, the release said.

While 19 teams of National Disaster Response Force were taking part in relief operations in the rain-ravaged districts, eight teams of navy personnel were deployed in Visakhapatnam to assist the district administration in relief measures, the release added.

According to reports received in Hyderabad, flood water has started receding in affected areas.

Image: Andhra Pradesh CM Kiran Kumar Reddy visits a flood-affected village in Prakasam on Monday

Photograph: SnapsIndia