VIJAYAWADA: Atleast three people, including the driver and conductor of a RTC and a passenger in the vehicle, were reportedly washed away in gushing waters of Cheyyeru stream in Rajampet mandal of Kadapa district as rains battered several parts of Rayalaseema and south coastal Andhra districts for the second consecutive day on Friday.
Overflowing rivulets and streams flooded several residential localities in Anantapur, Chittoor and Kadapa districts while the districts of Nellore and Prakasam are witnessed intermittent rains.
According to reports reaching here, the bus from Rajampet to Nandaluru got struck in the overflowing waters of Cheyyeru stream which received huge inflows from upstream Annamayya Project. As the bus got stuck in the water, the passengers climbed atop the vehicle but the driver, conductor and a passenger got washed away, reports said.
In Tirupati, even as rains subsided, the situation remaining grim in several colonies of the temple town where floodwater remain at precarious levels. Vehicular movement was restored at the east railway underpass. Officials have been pumping out flood water from Govindarajuswamy choultry.
A two-storey building collapsed as the floods washed away the ground underneath. One person went missing in the floods that lashed Tirupati last night. Around 1,303 people were shifted to relief camps across the Chittoor district, according to officials.
Meanwhile, Nellore district has been receiving rainfall since Friday morning.
Coastal mandals of Nellore district including the city witnessing moderate to heavy rainfall. Officials of Nellore Municipal Corporation have shifted the people residing in river Penna bed areas to safer places in the city.
Somasila project has been receiving huge inflows following heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas. Both the ghat roads and also the trekking paths leading to Tirumala were closed.
Kadapa and Anantapur districts received heavy rains since Friday morning and rivers like Chitravati are in spate. Some trains were also halted as flood waters were overflowing over railway tracks in Kadapa district.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who reviewed the situation with the Collectors of rain affected districts, asked officials to extend a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the families of those who lost their in rain related incidents. Reddy also asked officials to take all possible steps to avoid inconvenience to the devotees visiting Tirumala.