Hyderabad: Heavy rain in Andhra Pradesh killed 17 people so far and around 100 people are missing and hundreds of pilgrims are trapped in massive floods.
Satyababu – a Circle Inspector in the Kadiri town of Anantapur district informed that three children and an aged woman died in an old 3-story building that collapsed due to heavy rains late at night. Rescue operation underway. Over 4 people are still trapped inside the building rubble.
Ghat road and walkways to Tirumala Hills that houses the temple have been closed. The Swarnamukhi river on the outskirts of Tirupati is flooded and the reservoirs are overflowing. Many people have been reported to be stuck in the floods.
National and state disaster relief teams have been deployed to handle the situation and rescue operations are in full swing. The floods have damaged the roads at many places and rail, road and air traffic have been hit.
Kadapa airport will remain closed till November 25. Rains have caused disruptions in Tamil Nadu and Kerala as well. In Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district, the pilgrimage to Pamba and Sabarimala tomorrow has been prohibited because of rising water levels in the Pamba river.
The depression over southwest Bay of Bengal off north Tamil Nadu coast moved west-northwestwards and crossed north Tamil Nadu & adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts between Puducherry and Chennai between 3-4 am today.
(_Vinayak)