Cyclone Nivar: 1 electrocuted, another washed away as heavy rain batters south coastal Andhra

One person died of electrocution and another farmer was washed away in a rivulet, while hundreds of others were rendered homeless as heavy rains battered south-coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema districts on Thursday following the impact of Cyclone Nivar that made landfall near Puducherry late on Wednesday night.

Officials of the revenue and disaster management departments, who had a meeting with chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in the afternoon, explained that Erpedu, Srikalahasti, Satyavedu areas of Chittoor district and the whole of Nellore district witnessed heavy rainfall, while parts of Kadapa and Anantapur districts received moderate to heavy rainfall.

The authorities declared holidays for all educational institutions in Nellore, Chittoor, Kadapa and Anantapur districts till Monday.

Nellore district collector K V N Chakradhar Babu said one unidentified person died after he stepped on a live wire that had snapped due to an uprooted electric pole after heavy rains. The chief minister ordered the officials to support the family of the deceased. The district received an average rainfall of 7 cms in the last 12 hours.

The officials told the chief minister that three farmers were stranded in a rivulet in Mallemadugu near Reningunta in Chittoor district. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) managed to rescue two of them, while another farmer was washed away and could not be traced.

Nellore district, which is closer to Tamil Nadu, bore the maximum brunt of Cyclone Nivar. As many as 923 families had been shifted to 53 shelter homes in the district. Similarly, as many as 340 families in Satyavedu mandal of Chittoor district were shifted to relief centres.

In Nellore town, heavy gales accompanied by rain uprooted trees and electric poles blocking traffic at several places, resulting in disruption of power supply. Several towns like Sullurpeta, Atmakur, Venkatagiri, and Kavali revenue divisions of the district received heavy rains with strong winds since last night.

A bridge collapsed at Lingasamudram village between Venkatagiri and Rapuru towns. Traffic has been diverted in the area.

The temple town of Tirumala also received heavy rainfall since Wednesday night. There were landslides and uprooting of trees on the Tirupati-Tirumala ghat road, leading to disruption of traffic. The wall of a community hall also collapsed, damaging two bikes.

Flights to Tirupati are behind schedule. The airlines communicated information about the delayed flights to passengers through messages.

Officials told the chief minister that because of heavy rains, there has been damage to crops at some places and damage assessment programs will be carried out as soon as the rains subside. CM Jagan ordered the authorities to prepare a report on the enumeration of crop damage after the rains stop and to be ready to provide immediate relief.

In Nandyal in Kurnool district, the Kundu River was overflowing. District collector Veerapandian has instructed local officials to arrange for shifting people from vulnerable areas to safer camps.