Rains Damage 83 Houses, Uproot 152 Power Poles In Srikakulam

Heavy rains damaged 83 houses and uprooted 152 electricity poles across Srikakulam district, collector Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar said on Thursday.

A preliminary assessment found horticultural crops damaged across 630 hectares, while field-level officials were assessing crop losses.

Addressing the media along with joint collector Farman Ahmed Khan, Pundkar said the deep depression crossed the coast near Kalingapatnam shortly after midnight on Wednesday and rainfall had since subsided. In view of the prevailing conditions, he advised farmers to cultivate alternative crops instead of paddy.

Teams cleared roads blocked by fallen trees and restored traffic within four hours, he said. Power supply from the 33 kV substation at Ampolu was restored within eight hours, while drinking water services remained unaffected.

As a precaution, officials identified 42 pregnant women due to deliver this month and shifted them to hospitals.

The Bahuda river was carrying 23,000 cusecs of water and the Nagavali River 25,000 cusecs, the collector said.

Although the Nagavali alert level is 45,000 cusecs, the administration had made the necessary preparations. Two tanks were flooded, but no major disruption was reported.

Two state disaster response force teams and one NDRF team were deployed for relief operations and remained on alert for possible flash floods.

Anticipating heavy inflows into the Nagavali and Vamsadhara rivers following rainfall in Odisha’s Ganjam and Gajapati districts and Andhra Pradesh’s Parvathipuram Manyam district, the administration established 86 rehabilitation centres. A total of 221 people were taking shelter at the centres.

Pundkar said 1-tmc of water had been stored in the Hiramandalam reservoir through the flood-flow canal and its catchment area following coordinated efforts by Vamsadhara engineering officials.

With adverse weather expected to continue until Friday evening, residents were advised to remain indoors except in emergencies. School authorities were instructed to reopen institutions only after confirming that campuses and approach roads were safe.

The district recorded average rainfall of 42mm on Sept 22, 87.3mm on Sept 23 and 98.99mm on Thursday.

Meanwhile, agriculture minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu toured rain-affected areas on Thursday and visited several villages in his constituency. He assessed damage to roads and agricultural land and instructed officials to undertake restoration work.

Atchannaidu directed officials from the Irrigation, Panchayat Raj, and Roads and Buildings departments to expedite repairs and prepare proposals for new roads, particularly in tribal areas.

He said all villages in tribal regions should be connected by proper road infrastructure.

At Kotha Agraharam village in Nandigam mandal, Atchannaidu inspected a bridge that collapsed during the cyclone. He directed officials to begin reconstruction immediately and provide alternative arrangements for public movement.

The minister also inspected waterlogged agricultural fields and instructed officials to drain stagnant water, repair canals and drainage channels, and closely monitor field conditions to minimise farmers’ losses. He directed officials to carry out relief and restoration work without causing further public inconvenience.