AP rain toll reaches 22; CM monitors relief operations

22 people have been killed in rain-related incidents in Andhra Pradesh as heavy rains continued to batter several regions under the influence of 'Cyclone Nilam'.

Coastal Andhra Pradesh continued to bear the brunt of nature's fury as villages and towns were inundated by swollen rivulets.

The rainfall was such that Narasapur in West Godavari district received a record 31 cms of rainfall in the last 24 hours, followed by 27 cms in Amalapuram, 25 cms in Rajahmundry (both in East Godavari district), 25 cms in Yelamanchili (Visakhapatnam dist), 23 cms in Koderu (West Godavari district).

Standing crops, including paddy, were affected in 2,43,634 hectares. The death toll in rain-related incidents like wall collapse and drowning rose to 22, state disaster management commissioner T Radha told mediapersons in Hyderabad on Sunday.

The government has set up 86 relief camps in which about 68,000 people were provided shelter, he said.

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy directed chief secretary Minnie Mathew to put all concerned departments on high alert and closely monitor the flood and heavy rains situation.

He reviewed the situation with the chief secretary and other senior officials from New Delhi over phone and asked them to make all efforts for relief and rescue measures. He also spoke to collectors of rain-hit districts, a release from the chief minister's office said.

The South Central Railway has diverted several trains and rescheduled some in Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam section.

The trains diverted included: 12513 Secunderabad-Guwahati Express which left Secunderabad at 0730 hrs today is diverted to run via Ballarshah, Nagpur, Bilaspur, Tatanagar and Kharagpur.

12253 Yesvantpur-Bhagalpur Express which left Yesvantpur yesterday, 12666 Kanyakumari-Howrah Express which left Kanyakumari yesterday and 12840 Chennai-Howrah Mail which left Chennai yesterday are also diverted via the same route.

22606 Villupuram-Puruli Express which left Villupuram yesterday is now diverted to run via Ballarshah, Nagpur,  Bilaspur, Chakradharpur and Chandil.