The deceased included a schoolteacher and two students, who were travelling in a car which was swept away by floodwaters.
Published Aug 31, 2024 | 10:58 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 01, 2024 | 11:38 AM
NDRF personnel in Vijayawada. (Supplied)
A schoolteacher and two students were among nine people killed in rain-related incidents in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday, 31 August.
While five people, including three women, were killed in landslides in Vijayawada, the teacher and students were swept away by floodwaters in Guntur.
The landslides were reported from Mogalrajapuram in Vijayawada. Boulders that rolled down in the torrential rain fell on the houses, killing the people. Following the incident, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced an ex gratia of ₹5 lakh each to the families of the deceased.
The deceased have been identified as Nagalakshmi (44), Meghana (25), and Lakshmi (45) from Vijayawada; Santosh (22) from Gudlavalleru in Krishna district; and Lalu (52).
In the Guntur district, a boulder fell on Nagaratnam (80) at Gandalaiahpet in the First Ward of Mangalagiri town, killing her.
The teacher and students were travelling in a car when floodwaters from an overflowing stream swept away the vehicle at the Pedakakani village in the Guntur district. The teacher had picked up the students after the VIVA School at Nambur suspended classes due to the rain. He was driving them to the village 3 km from the school when the car was caught in the floodwaters. Their bodies were later recovered.
The teacher and two students were travelling in the car when floodwaters swept away the vehicle. (Supplied)
Police identified the deceased as Nadimpalli Raghavendra Rao (38), Pasupuleti Sowresh Bagh (8), a second-grade student, and Kondamudi Manvith (9), a third-grade student.
Several roads in Guntur town, including the Kaza toll plaza between Vijayawada and Guntur, were flooded.
Continuous heavy-to-very-heavy rain pounded several areas of Andhra Pradesh, including Vijayawada and neighbouring districts. Vijayawada received more than 10 cm of rainfall, with more rain continuing to affect the residents. Traffic on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway was affected due to waterlogging.
The India Meteorological Department predicted more heavy-to-very-heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, triggered by a well-marked low-pressure area over the Westcentral and Northwest Bay of Bengal off the North Andhra coast, intensified into a depression.
The depression is likely to move northwest and make landfall between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur, near Kalingapatnam, around midnight on Saturday. The police have advised the public to avoid non-essential travel.
Chief Minister Naidu held a teleconference with officials to assess the situation, as three days of heavy rainfall have been predicted. He instructed government agencies to remain vigilant and urged coordination between the irrigation and revenue departments to monitor water bodies.
(Edited by Majnu Babu with inputs from Sumit Jha).
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