Andhra Pradesh floods: 88,000 people evacuated

The Andhra Pradesh Government has taken up evacuation work on a large scale in the rain-affected districts and over 88,000 people have been evacuated so far, officials said on Wednesday.

Almost all rivers and rivulets in these 13 districts are overflowing due to incessant rains over the last fortnight.

So far over 88,000 people have been shifted to safer places in the districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Khammam, Adilabad, Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Mahabubnagar and Rangareddy, according to officials of Disaster Management Department.

In view of the continuing heavy rains, discharge of water from reservoirs and swollen rivers, as many as 681 villages were likely to be submerged, according to a release from the Chief Minister's Office.

The disaster management officials said the state, as a whole, has received 34 per cent excess rainfall till Wednesday. Chief Minister K Rosaiah, who reviewed the situation, asked the district collectors to increase the number of medical camps in the rain-affected areas.

He asked the officials to closely monitor the flood situation and take precautionary measures to prevent loss of lives and property and damage to crops.