People living on the banks of river Penna in Nellore and other parts of the district spent sleepless night as there was no let up in the downpour since Wednesday. The storage in Kandaleru reservoir went up to a comfortable 60.32 mcft , leaving a flood cushion of just about seven tmcft.
“Thanks to precautionary measures taken in advance from November 22, loss of life had been averted and loss to property minimised,” SPSR Nellore District Collector K.V.N. Chakradhar Babu said, while overseeing relief and rescue operations taken up by National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force personnel, along with 5,000 government staff in the affected areas.
More than two tmcft of water was let out into sea from Somasila reservoir, which had attended full capacity, after alerting people living in the mandals downstream.
Sea-faring fishermen were alerted in time and brought back safely along with over 3,650 boats. Over 3,300 persons were shifted to 115 relief camps organised across the district.
Paddy seedlings raised in 2500 hectares were submerged as also black gram crop in over 3,500 hectares. Roads suffered breaches in 89 places, while water tanks breached at two places. Water entered Lingalapadu as the village tank overflowed.
Impact in Prakasam
The impact of Nivar was also felt across Prakasam district after the cyclonic storm crossed the coast near Puduchery, said District Collector Pola Bhaskar while leading a team of officials in providing succour to some of the over 4,000 people shifted to 98 relief camps as there was no let up in the rains.
Standing crops in 34,000 hectares including cotton in 21,000 hectares, black gram in 4,500 hectares, paddy in 8,500 hectares were affected in the wake of incessant rains, official sources said. Those in need of assistance could call toll free 1077.
Meanwhile, Prakasam Superintendent of Police Siddharth Kaushal visited the coastal villages of Kottapatnam, Etamukkala, Sankuvanikunta and Surareddipalem to oversee relief operations organised there in coordination with other departments including Revenue, Fire, Irrigation, Fisheries and Panchayat Raj.
Water flow was being monitored on continuous basis in the swollen Sagileru, Elamineru, Jampaleru, Pileru, Kunderu, Romperu, Musi and Gundlakamma. People in distress could call 100 or District Police Control Room number 9121102269, the SP said.