Heavy rains caused severe flooding in Vijayawada and Guntur towns of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday, disrupting daily life and leaving many residential areas submerged. The intense rainfall, triggered by a depression in the Bay of Bengal, began affecting the state after the weather system made landfall at Kalingapatnam early Sunday morning.
Since Saturday, the heavy rains have resulted in the deaths of ten people across various rain-related incidents. In Vijayawada, a landslide in Moghalrajpuram claimed five lives and left four others injured.
The flooding was particularly severe in the low-lying areas of Krishna and Guntur districts, with overflowing tanks and lakes exacerbating the situation. Despite the rain easing off on Sunday, numerous residential colonies remained inundated. Residents reported sleepless nights and widespread loss of personal belongings, with many lacking food and water due to a lack of timely assistance from authorities.
Several roads in Vijayawada, Amaravati, Mangalagiri, Guntur, Eluru, and other locations were submerged, causing significant disruptions to vehicular traffic and normal activities. Vijayawada experienced its highest rainfall in two decades, with three to four feet of water on roads bringing the city to a standstill. Mangalagiri, in the Guntur district, recorded 278.5 mm of rainfall on Saturday, according to the Andhra Pradesh State Development Planning Society.
In response to the disaster, Minister for Municipal Administration P. Narayana, Vijayawada MP Kesneni Chinni, and local MLA Gadde Rammohan Rao visited the affected area in Moghalrajpuram to oversee rescue operations. Narayana announced that the government would provide ₹5 lakh in compensation to each family affected by the fatalities.
The depression in the Bay of Bengal had crossed Kalingapatnam and was centered approximately 90 km from Visakhapatnam and 120 km from Kalingapatnam and Malkangiri. It is expected to weaken into a low-pressure area.
The Meteorological (MeT) Office has forecasted moderate to heavy rain at isolated locations in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Parvathipuram Manyam, Alluri Sitharamaraju, Kakinada, and Nandyal districts. Additionally, Eluru, Krishna, NTR, Bapatla, Palnadu, and Kurnool districts may also experience moderate to heavy rainfall, while Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, East Godavari, and West Godavari districts are expected to see light to moderate rain in a few places.
