VIJAYAWADA: Heavy rain, accompanied by lightning and gusty winds, paralysed normal life apart from disrupting power supply in the city and its suburbs on Thursday. Several low-lying areas of the city were submerged in rainwater. The sudden downpour that began around 1:30 pm continued for more than two hours. Many trees were uprooted due to gusty winds, leading to power outages and traffic disruption in several areas of the city.
The Fire and Rescue Services Department and Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) have received several distress calls -- most of them related to snapped power lines and road obstructions caused by uprooted trees and fallen tree branches. A tree fell on a building and power lines at Water Tank Road, near Sikhamani Centre. In a similar incident, a tree collapsed near VP Siddhartha Public School, near Jammi Chettu Centre, leading to traffic snarls for a while.
An advertisement hoarding collapsed near Benz Circle following gusty winds. No casualties were reported from anywhere in the city. Commuters faced several probles due to waterlogging at a bridge near Kaleswara Rao Market, Moghalrajpuram and Eluru Road. Adding to their woes, sewage water was seen overflowing on the roads. Underground drainage system failed due to clogging of drains at Suryaraopet, Governorpet and many other areas.
It was quite an ordeal for pedestrians who had to wade through water-filled roads all over the city. Commuters faced difficulty as the roads dug up for developmental activities by various government agencies were filled with rainwater. They had a tough time negotiating potholes and avoiding slush.
Municipal Commissioner J Nivas cautioned hillslope residents to shift to safer locations. Public Health Department officials took stock of the havoc caused by the rain in the city.
The downpour also disrupted public life in Nuzvid, Tiruvuru and Pedana mandals. Disaster management officials cautioned about thunderstorms in Machilipatnam, Pedana, Guduru, Challapalli, Gudlavalleru, Pamarru, Mylavaram, G Konduru and Agiripalli mandals. Krishna District Collector B Lakshmikantham convened a teleconference with the officials concerned to take precautionary measures to be followed during the untimely rain.
Officials of Electricity, Municipal and Panchayat Raj departments in the district were instructed to be accessible to the public. A special cell was established by the Civil Supplies Department to extend support to farmers whose paddy crop was damaged due to the sudden downpour. Farmers can contact phone numbers: 7702003571 and 9963479156 in case of emergency.
3 killed in lightning
Guntur/Ongole: Three persons died and another injured when they were struck by lightning in Guntur and Prakasam districts on Thursday. According to Krosuru SI P Suresh, T Yesu Reddy (45) and N Balagopala Rao (22) of Krosuru mandal were killed on the spot and another person T Raghava Reddy suffered injuries when lightning struck them. Meanwhile, in Prakasam district, heavy rains accompanied by gales and lightning created havoc resulting in the death of one woman. Two buffaloes were also killed when they were struck by lightning.
Trains halted
Ongole: As heavy rain lashed Prakasam district, Kerala Express - Train from New Delhi to Trivandrum Central was halted at Ongole Rail Station from 6.10 pm to 7.40 pm on Thursday. Krishna Express - Train from Tirupati to Adilabad was halted at Singarayakonda Rail Station from 6 pm to 7:30 pm. Pinakini Express - Train from Vijayawada Junction to Chennai Central arrived at Ongole at 8 pm instead of 6.30 pm.