Andhra Pradesh floods: Death toll mounts to 31; people stranded as rail, road routes cut off

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Amaravati: The death toll due to rain-related incidents in different districts of Andhra Pradesh reached 31 on Sunday (November 21) as the flood continued to wreak havoc.

The connectivity via railways and roads was also disrupted owing to the floods as a result of which several trains were cancelled or diverted while hundreds of vehicles were stranded.

The railway authorities announced cancellation of 42 trains on the Chennai-Vijayawada grand trunk route, while several other trains were partially cancelled or diverted.

The cancelled trains include Visakhapatnam-Kadapa, Tirupati-Hazrat Nizamuddin, Chennai Central-CST Mumbai, Tirupati-Nizamabad, Chittoor-Kacheguda, Chennai Central-LTT Mumbai, Tirupati-Kolhapur, Gudur-Secunderabad, Vijayawada-Chennai Central, Kakinada Town-Tirupati, Adilabad- H. S. Nanded, Lingampalli-Tirupati, Hyderabad-Tambaram, Hyderabad-Chennai Central, Secunderabad-Gudur, Secunderabad-Tirupati and Tirupati-Adilabad.

The Chennai-Kolkata National Highway-16 had to be closed down for traffic in SPS Nellore district following a heavy breach of road at Padugupadu.

The State Disaster Management Authority said more than two lakh cusecs of floodwater flowed out of the Somasila reservoir in SPS Nellore district, leading to the deluge.

This caused breach of the National Highway-16 at Kovuru as well. Consequently, traffic on the NH-16 between Nellore and Vijayawada has been suspended, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded for kilometers on either side.

Hundreds of passengers were stuck in the Nellore RTC bus station as bus services were disrupted.

Vehicular traffic coming from Srikalahasti has been stopped at Tottembedu check post and diverted via Pamuru and Darsi, officials said.

In Kadapa district, a bridge on the river Papagni collapsed at Kamalapuram, cutting off road communication between Kadapa and Anantapuramu districts.

Floodwater gushing out from the Veligallu reservoir led to the bridge collapse, officials said.

In Kadapa city, a three-storied building collapsed in the wee hours of Sunday, but no casualties were reported as the inmates ran out to safety just minutes before the incident.

A mother and child, who were trapped on the second floor, were rescued by police and fire services personnel.