4 Nov, 2012, 02.54PM IST, PTI

Cyclone 'Nilam': Rains continue to lash Andhra Pradesh

 HYDERABAD: The death toll in rain-related incidents in Andhra Pradesh rose to 17 today as heavy rains continued to lash several regions under the influence of cyclone 'Nilam', throwing normal life out of gear.

Coastal districts bore the brunt of nature's fury with low-lying areas of East and West Godavari, Krishna and Visakhapatnam districts getting inundated by swollen rivulets, officials said here.

Paddy and other crops over 2,43,634 hectares have been hit, they said.

Disaster Management officials said 480 houses were fully damaged, and 766 partially. At least 16 tanks were breached, 449 electricity poles fell, 413.91 kms of roads were damaged.

As per a report of the Municipal Administration Department, 495 kms of roads, 406 kms of drains, 107 kms of water supply lines, 36 municipal buildings and 10,882 streetlights in the state were damaged.

Water entered houses at Chanakyapuri, Ashok Nagar, Tangellamudi and others areas of Eluru, the headquarters of West Godavari district overnight.

Water level was rising at the Prakasam barrage in Vijayawada; the area of Ramalingeswara Nagar, Singh Nagar and Payakapuram in the city were flooded.

Villages and towns on the banks of river Godavari were inundated and transport links badly affected.

Some 4,000 people have shifted to 19 relief camps in Visakhapatnam district, authorities told PTI.

The South Central Railway has diverted several trains as water was flowing above the danger mark at a railway bridge between Tuni-Gullipadu on Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam section.

SCR has cancelled 12 trains, including Ratnachal Express, and partially cancelled another two.

The SCR has diverted several trains and rescheduled some in Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam section.

The trains diverted included: 12513 Secunderabad-Guwahati Express which left Secunderabad at 0730 hrs today is diverted to run via Ballarshah, Nagpur, Bilaspur, Tatanagar and Kharagpur.

12253 Yesvantpur-Bhagalpur Express which left Yesvantpur yesterday, 12666 Kanyakumari-Howrah Express which left Kanyakumari yesterday and 12840 Chennai-Howrah Mail which left Chennai yesterday are also diverted via the same route.

22606 Villupuram-Puruli Express which left Villupuram yesterday is now diverted to run via Ballarshah, Nagpur, Bilaspur, Chakradharpur and Chandil.