Gale Winds, Hailstorms Ravage Crops And Disrupt Power in Rayalaseema, Nellore

Kadapa, Nellore: Unseasonal gale winds accompanied by heavy rain and hailstorms caused widespread damage across Rayalaseema and parts of Nellore district on May 22 and 23, destroying crops, uprooting trees and disrupting power supply in several areas.

Farmers in Kadapa, Nandyal, Kurnool and parts of Anantapur districts suffered heavy losses, with banana plantations bearing the brunt of the damage. Hundreds of acres of banana crops nearing harvest were flattened by strong winds, particularly in Pulivendula, Railway Koduru, Rajampet and Kamalapuram constituencies of Kadapa district.

“We invested nearly ₹1.5 lakh per acre on banana cultivation across six acres. Everything has been flattened overnight,” said D. Madhusudan, a farmer from Pullampet in Rajampet constituency.

Apart from banana plantations, mango orchards and standing crops such as chilli and paddy also suffered extensive damage in several areas.

M. Keshava Naidu, a mango farmer from Railway Koduru, said all fruits in his 10-acre orchard had fallen due to the untimely rain at a time when market demand was high.

The storm also damaged infrastructure in several areas. In Muddanur mandal of Kadapa district, electric poles were uprooted, resulting in power outages for nearly 24 hours in multiple villages. Large trees were also uprooted in several places.

Agriculture officials said field-level assessment of crop losses was under way and detailed reports would be submitted to the government soon. Preliminary estimates indicate losses running into several crores.

Heavy winds and rain also disrupted normal life in Nellore city, where a huge tree collapsed on electricity lines at Ramji Nagar 9th Street in the 20th division.

The incident damaged three electricity poles, snapped wires and damaged a parked car, besides blocking the road and inconveniencing residents.

Municipal and electricity department staff, along with leaders of the Telugu Desam Party and Jana Sena Party, rushed to the spot and took up restoration works following instructions from Municipal Administration minister Ponguru Narayana.

Officials cleared the fallen tree within hours and restored electricity supply before noon.