At least eight have died while several others have been injured in various regions of Andhra Pradesh due to heavy rains that were accompanied with lightning and strong winds on Monday, according to officials. Seven of the victims were killed due to the lightning strikes whereas a ten-year-old died when a tree fell on him in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh.
The adverse weather conditions commenced on Sunday with winds going up to 60-80 km per hour leading to destruction of properties, uprooting of trees and electricity poles. The rains were especially heavy in some areas that have eroded entire crops in the Krishna, East Godavari and West Godavari districts.
According to reports, 50000 acres of paddy fields, several acres of banana and papa plantations and maize crops have been destroyed in the affected areas.
The affected farmers have claimed that despite weather alerts, the authorities failed to make sufficient arrangements to withstand the adverse weather and mitigate the damage, as reported by ETV Bharat.
Several areas also witnessed damage to power supply lines owing to the adverse weather. The highest amount of rainfall was recorded in the Kajulur area in Kakinada district, amounting to 100 mm between 8:30 AM and 7 PM on Sunday.
Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha has asked the Disaster Management Agency, police officials and district collectors to pursue the matter on a war footing basis and minimise the inconvenience to the people in the aftermath of the incident.
