VISAKHAPATNAM: THE incessant rains stopped in major parts of Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts by Friday afternoon. But they continue to lash Srikakulam district, as the cyclonic storm Roanu is heading towards Odisha from Kalingapatnam coast. Power shutdowns and overflowing drains continued on Friday.
Coastal Andhra Pradesh witnessed moderate rainfall even late Thursday night. The Srikakulam district has been receiving heavy rainfall since Friday morning and has been continuing in many areas till late in the night. Several areas of Vizag and Srikakulam faced power cuts in the wee hours and in the early hours of Friday. People in the coastal areas of Bhogapuram mandal in Vizianagaram district claimed that the sea water had made an ingress on the beach.
However, there was clear sky in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts by Friday afternoon and the overflowing drains started receding. People of One Town, Pedagantyada, Gajuwaka and a few other low-lying areas started cleaning up their houses. GVMC commissioner Pravin Kumar visited several areas of One Town and ordered restoration works. Staff of EPDCL also started attending to several complaints.
The railway authorities confirmed that the Kothavalasa-Kirandul (K-K) railway line had been cleared of boulders. Visakhapatnam district collector N Yuvaraj said that though the rain stopped as the cyclone crossed Vizag coast, they are on alert till Saturday evening as more rains are expected. Yuvaraj made it clear that no untoward incident took place in Visakhapatnam, including the agency.
Public transport disrupted in Srikakulam
Public transport was disrupted in Srikakulam district because of technical glitches on railway lines and roadside trees were uprooted. Prasanthi Express from Bhubaneswar was halted at Sompeta for over an hour due to technical glitches. Buses found difficult to ply in rural areas near Srikakulam as the roads were flooded with water and trees fell on roads. M Trinadha Rao, a rickshaw puller and a native of Adiandhra street of Tekkali, was severely injured after a branch of tree fell on him while scouting for passengers in the rain near the Mandal Parishad Development office at Tekkali. His condition is said to be stable. Many houses and agricultural fields were flooded at the Gollaveedhi village as Pedda Cheruvu at Ponduru village developed breach. Fishermen of Batti Galluru and Baruva Kotturu of Sompeta mandal and Bandaruvanipeta village of Gara mandal claimed that the waves were so strong and the sea ingressed several metres into the coast.