Incessant rain that lashed the region over the past 24 hours has paralysed public life in Nellore.
Heavy rain was reported in 26 of the 38 mandals in the district, with Nellore rural mandal receiving the highest rainfall of 243.4 mm, followed by Nellore Urban (243.2 mm) and Indukurupeta (200.2) mm.
Twelve mandals received rainfall below 10 mm.
Bracing for the impact of cyclone Michaung, the district administration deployed two NDRF teams along the coastal villages in the early hours of Monday.
Tuesday was declared a holiday was declared for schools to ensure the safety of schoolchildren.
Meanwhile, the traffic on the busy Kolkota-Chennai grand trunk road came to a grinding halt at various points between Kavali and Chillakuru as rainwaters flooded the NH.
Gusty winds with a speed ranging between 55 and 80 km per hour were reported in Indukuripeta, Muthukuru, Alluru, and Nellore areas.
Police parties were deployed at the approach roads to Mypadu and Chinna Koduru beaches, to prevent the public from venturing close to the shore.
Nellore district Collector, M. Hari Narayanan, told the media that all precautions were being taken to prevent any loss of life due to the cyclone.
“The people of the low-lying areas have been alerted and evacuated to safer places. For this, 98 relief camps were identified and close 2,000 people were shifted to 54 relief camps,” he said.
The Collector said that the paddy cultivation was still at the sowing stage in the district. “All precautionary measures are taken to lessen the damage to agriculture crops,” he said.
He said that copious rains for a week brought heavy inflows into the Somashila and Kandaleru reservoirs in the district.
Meanwhile, several prime localities in the heart of Nellore city, including the Magunta Layout, Harinathapuram, Ramalingapuram, and Bus Stand area, were flooded with rain waters.
With the stoppage of bus services, it was a harrowing time for the public at the Atmakuru bus stand in Nellore city. Due to the inundation of the roads and rainwater entering the houses, the public was forced to stay indoors in several localities, including Stonehousepet, Moolapet, and Kapatipalem.
The APSRTC had stopped a majority of the bus services to the rural areas since Monday morning. The Penna river, which flows through Nellore city, received heavy inflows from the catchment areas. The local police stepped up surveillance along the river course, cautioning the public not to venture into the waters.
