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The death toll in the heat wave that has gripped Andhra Pradesh for over a week soared to 373 on Wednesday.
Briefing newsmen after a Cabinet meeting in Hyderabad, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said 84 people had died in Guntur district. Prakasam district came second with 63 deaths, followed by East Godavari (50), West Godavari (44), Krishna (42), Khammam (29), Visakhapatnam (19), Mahbubnagar (12), Nizamabad (12), Nalgonda (7), Adilabad (6), Vizianagaram (2) and Cuddapah, Chittoor and Kurnool (1 each).
The chief minister said that the families of the victims below the poverty line would be provided ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 each.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad Meteorological Centre Director Dr C V V Bhadram said: "The situation is far better today [Wednesday]. The heat wave conditions have subsided all over the state. On Tuesday night, there were some rains at a few places in coastal Andhra, Telangana and Rayalaseema regions. Some places such as Kurnool, Venkatagiri Kota and Satyaveedu received 4 to 8 cm of rainfall."
"The forecast for the next 48 hours is that light to moderate rains are likely at a few places over coastal Andhra and isolated rains or showers over Telangana and Rayalaseema," Bhadram said.
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