Incessant rain lashed south coastal Andhra Pradesh under the influence of severe cyclonic storm Nivar over southwest Bay of Bengal, which intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm on Wednesday.
The SPSR Nellore district administration began evacuation of people living in the hamlets in, among other mandals, Tada, Sullurpeta, Gudur and Naidupeta as rain occurred at most places and heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rain in some places.
While 2,000 people have been evacuated in Nellore, 4,000 people have been moved to safer places in Prakasam district so far, official sources said. A control room was opened at the Collectorate. The sea remained rough to very rough.
Low-lying areas in, among other areas, Naidupeta and Venkatagiri towns were submerged following continuous downpour. Cautionary signal-III was hoisted at Krishnapatnam.
Farmers were a worried lot as the downpour submerged paddy seedlings raised in the coastal mandals. Reviewing the situation with officials in Nellore, Irrigation Minister P. Anil Kumar Yadav asked the officials concerned to be fully on alert to avert breaches to tanks as also major reservoirs including Somasila and Kandaleru which had reached maximum storage capacity.
Personnel of the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force rushed to the coastal mandals to oversee relief and rescue operations.
Prakasam Collector Pola Bhaskar visited Ulavapadu, which is likely to bear the brunt of the cyclone in the district after landfall.
Port warnings
Local cautionary signal-III was hoisted at Machilipatnam, Nizampatnam and Vadarevu ports.
Distant warning signal-II was hoisted at Visakhapatnam Port, DW-II with section signal number - IV was hoisted at Kakinada and Gangavaram ports.
Official teams in Chittoor district rushed to various water bodies to take stock of the situation, in the likelihood of their developing breaches. Thirty-two NDRF and 21 SDRF teams are on the standby in Tirupati to take up relief measures.
Seventeen mandals have been identified as most vulnerable in terms of impact. Officials had declared holiday for schools on Wednesday and Thursday. People can dial 100 or reach Chittoor police WhatApp at 9440900005 for support.
In Srikalahasti, police teams have been asked to evacuate people, especially the dwellers of dilapidated buildings, tin-roofed and thatched huts in the wake of sweeping gales, to safe zones. The eastern mandals of Varadaiahpalem, Nagalapuram, Satyavedu, KVB Puram and Nagari, bordering Tamil Nadu, are expected to bear the brunt of the cyclone.