Rains lashed the three districts of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitarama Raju beginning late Thursday night.
Visakhapatnam district, which received comparatively lesser rainfall compared to its neighbouring districts in the past few days, saw continuous rainfall from the early hours of Friday. This prompted the district administration to declare a holiday for all schools for the day.
While Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli district authorities announced a closure of schools for one day on July 19, the ASR district administration announced that schools would remain closed for two days – July 19 and 20 — as a precautionary measure.
However, many parents expressed their annoyance over the “late announcement” of the decision, as many children had already left for school braving heavy rain.
“For the past few days, there was a rainfall warning from the IMD. The authorities could have announced the holiday in advance. We received the message from the schools at around 7.45 a.m. when I was already on my way to school to drop my child,” said M.S. Prasad from Arilova.
By morning, many low-lying areas in the city began reporting water-logging. Roads came under a sheet of water as drains overflowed. The road between the police barracks and the Old Post Office was inundated causing inconvenience to motorists, especially two-wheelers and auto-rickshaw drivers. Many remained indoors until the water receded, while office-goers had to choose alternative routes.
An ambulance driver pushing his vehicle after it broke down due to heavy rains, in Visakhapatnam on Friday. | Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak
In some areas like NAD and Visalakshi Nagar, large trees came uprooted in the heavy rain, and fell on the main roads blocking traffic.
The railway underpass on the Allipuram to Port route was completely waterlogged, posing severe inconvenience to motorists. Some two-wheelers and four-wheelers were stuck in the water.
As per the A.P. State Planning & Development Society (APSDPS), between 8.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Friday, Gopalapatnam received around 50 mm rainfall, followed by Pendurthi with 44.5 mm rainfall and Peda Gantyada with 41mm rainfall. Aganampudi recorded 31 mm rainfall, while Butchirajupalem recorded 26 mm rainfall. Similarly, Bheemunipatnam, Kapuluppada, Seethammadhara, Arilova recorded around 20 mm rainfall in those two hours.
Many roads were inundated across the city as rainwater overflowed from clogged drains, severely inconveniencing pedestrians and motorists alike. | Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak
In Anakapalli district, Parawada, Atchutapuram, Anakapalli Town, S. Rayavaram, Munagapaka and a few other areas saw over 50 mm rainfall between 8.30 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Data from APSDPS showed that Pendurthi, Gopalapatnam, Arilova, Anandapuram, Maharanipeta, Seethammadhara and a few other areas recorded 70 mm to 98 mm rainfall between 8.30 a.m. on July 18 to 8.30 a.m. on July 19. Most of the rainfall was recorded late at night.
Collector M.N. Harendhira Prasad asked officials concerned including the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) to be alert over the rainfall. He conducted an online meeting with Commissioner of Police, Shanka Brata Bagchi, Revenue Officer K. Mohan Kumar. A control room with 0891-2590102, 0891-2590100 were set up at the Collectorate. Later, he also attended a video-conference and informed about the steps being taken to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Published - July 19, 2024 08:18 pm IST
