A t least nine people were killed as the cyclonic storm (Helen) in the Bay of Bengal hit the coast near Machlipatanam in Krishna district on Friday afternoon causing largescale devastation in coastal districts of Krishna, West and East Godavari districts.
Powerful gale with a speed of 120 kms per hour and heavy rain lashed the region as the storm started crossing the coast around 2.30 pm. Cyclone Warning Centre, Visakhapatanam said that the system will take another few hours to make a complete landfall.
Coastal belt between Mahclipatanam and Konaseema region of East Godavari district bore the brunt as powerful winds uprooted hundreds of trees and electricity poles plunging hundreds of villages into darkness. Heavy rains since Thursday night have caused flooding and low lying areas were inundated. Road traffic was also hit badly as roads were under several feet of water. At many places roads were washed way. A stretch of 4 kms of roads was washed away between Kakinada and Uppada in East Godavari district.
More than 30,000 people were evacuated from the vulnerable areas and kept in cyclone shelters and other concrete buildings.
Heavy rain was continuing to lash coastal Andhra up to Visakhapatanam. The port city has recorded 11 cms of rain during last 24 hours.
Most of the deaths were reported from East Godavari district where the heavy rain has also caused extensive damage to the standing crops of paddy and banana in Konaseema region. Two deaths were reported from Karenikona Island and one each from Chintalapudi, Polavaram, Kothapeta and Uppalaguptam. Two persons were killed in separate incidents of uprooting of tree electricity pole in Krishna district.
Indian Meteorological Department said that the system will now move in South-southwesterly direction and weaken into deep depression causing more rain in coastal Andhra and isolated rain in parts of Telangana and Rayalaseema region over the next 48 hours.
Sea was very rough at the time of Helen crossing the coast with storm surge of one to one and a half metres. Authorities have already warned the fishermen to stay away from the sea in view of the rough conditions. Still 32 fishermen had gone missing off the coast of Kakinada, 12 of them were rescued by the boat of ONGC. Search was on for others.
This is third time in five weeks that Andhra coast is witnessing a natural calamity. While cyclone Phailin, which crossed the cost in Srikakulam district of North Coastal Andhra on October12, did not cause much loss of life, the subsequent depression and heavy rain resulted in deaths of 51 people in different mishaps all over the State.
Normally October is the month of cyclones and depressions in Andhra Pradesh which has nearly 1000 kms long coast but this time the season seems to have extended.
Same region was hit by another cyclone on November 6, 1996 causing heavy damages and loss of life.
Officials estimate that crops standing on 30,000 acres were damaged in West Godavari district alone.
A senior revenue official Satyanarayana was killed while travelling in a jeep to reach the cyclone affected areas of West Godavari district. His vehicle hit a tree causing his death, officials said.
Hundreds of villages were without electricity since midnight on Thursday. Officials said that it will take another two days to restore power.
Revenue Minister N Raghnuveera Reddy was in the cyclone-hit areas of Krishna district supervising the relief operations. Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy spoke to the Collectors of Krishna, East and West Godavari districts and directed them to provide food and all other necessary facilities to the people kept in relief camps.