Cyclone havoc

at least 25 people were killed and thousands rendered homeless as incessant rains lashed coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh on September 24 due to a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal. Despite the cyclone warning, 30 fishermen in five boats ventured into the sea and are reported to be missing. The cyclone was particularly severe in the Guntur and Prakasham districts where 40 villages are reported to be marooned.

The government of Andhra Pradesh has set up relief camps which are sheltering about 25,000 people. Agricultural fields have also been affected. Nearly 150,000 hectares of crop have been submerged as 200-400 mm of rain deluged the coast.

The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, N Chandrababu Naidu who surveyed the affected areas, said that several tanks had breached. The Cumbamuru tank in Prakasham had suffered ten breaches. The state government heaved a sigh of relief as the cyclone, which was threatening to hit the Andhra Pradesh coast between Vishakhapatnam and Kakinada, receded and moved off the Vishakhapatnam coast towards southern Orissa.