VIJAYAWADA: At a time when the residents in low-lying areas are in a grip of fear following heavy inflows to Prakasam Barrage, the city witnessed a heavy rainfall on Sunday afternoon, disrupting normal life. The rain accompanied by lightning and thunder, lasted for a couple of hours in several parts of the city.
Traffic was also disrupted near VMC office for a while as several motorists were stranded on the national highway towards Hyderabad. Low-lying areas such as Krishna Lanka, Ranigarithota, Tarakarama Nagar, Ranadev Nagar, Ramalingeswara Nagar and Bhupesh Gupta Nagar are still inundated following heavy inflows to Prakasam Barrage from the upstream.
The district administration along with Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) and revenue officials made announcements through public address system (PAS) and suggested the flood victims in the low-lying areas to relocate to the rehabilitation centres set up at Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation (IGMC) Stadium and Patamata High School.
Meanwhile, a 17-year-old boy was washed away in floods to Budameru Canal at Jakkulanekkalam in Gannavaram mandal of Krishna district. The missing teenager was identified as Satish.
Gannavaram Circle Inspector Purushotham reached the spot and carried out search operation with the help of expert swimmers and fire safety personnel. In their preliminary investigation, police came to know that Satish along with three other friends Chaitanya, Nani and Bobby ventured into the canal bund for a swim. While Satish was washed away by the strong current, his friends managed to swim safely. The body of Satish is yet to be retrieved.