The incessant rains in the state of Andhra have claimed the lives of 11 people, of which 6 people were from Visakhapatnam, a coastal district of the state. A total of 55,169 hectares of agricultural and horticultural crops were also damaged, according to media reports.
According to a Deccan Chronicle report, of the 11 deaths reported in the state, six were from Visakhapatnam, two from Guntur, one each from East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna districts due to various reasons such as wall collapse and being washed away in the floodwaters. Meanwhile, 11 cattle also perished at various locations along with damage being reported to 7,600 poultry animals.
As earlier reported, Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has reviewed the situation in the state and directed the officials of the affected districts to take necessary measures to prevent casualties.
Of the thousands of hectares of crop damage that occurred, the damage was mainly in the districts of Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Krishna, East and West Godavari. Some of the damaged crops include sugarcane, maize, paddy, pulses, ragi, cotton, tobacco.
In terms of damage, Vizag has 2,960 hectares of agricultural crop loss and 5,480 hectares of horticulture crop loss. In East Godavari, agricultural crops of 30,149 hectares and horticulture crops of 1,619 hectares were damaged, in Krishna district 9,869 hectares of agricultural and 1,059 hectares of horticulture crops were damaged. Guntur and Kadapa districts also had significant damage to both the agricultural and horticulture crops.
As per reports, a total of 58 mandals were severely affected by the rains which include 109 villages. The state government has set up about 41 relief camps to accommodate people stranded in the floods and has evacuated 1,996 families from the affected areas. About 7,500 people were accommodated in the relief camps.
Visakhapatnam and other districts have also witnessed heavy infrastructural damage to roads, drainage lines and drinking water pipelines.