The death toll due to the incessant rains that disrupted normal life in many parts of Andhra Pradesh during the last three days has reached 19, government officials said.
Officials said eight persons died in Krishna district, three in Guntur, two each in Mahbubnagar and Kurnool and one each in Nellore, Kadapa and Anantapur.
Six of the deaths were reported due to thunderbolt.
In all, 103 Mandals and 1,633 habitations were affected due to the rains and 8,681 families were evacuated to safer places, including 5,353 families in Visakhapatnam, 1,213 in Guntur and 2,115 in Prakasam.
They were sheltered in 55 relief camps, including 22 in Visakhapatnam, 24 in Prakasam and nine in Guntur.
The state is experiencing heavy rains under the impact of a low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal since Thursday.
The northeast monsoon turned vigorous over the south coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of the state. Heavy rainfall occurred over Telangana and south coastal Andhra as well.
The Hyderabad Meteorological Office has forecast that moderate to heavy rains are likely over the next 24 hours in the state.
Expressing concern over the severity of the situation, Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy on Saturday evening directed State Chief Secretary T K Dewan to review the situation with district collectors through videoconference for taking up relief and rehabilitation work. The state and district administration would coordinate their efforts to mitigate the sufferings of the affected people.
The chief secretary asked the district collectors to immediately open round-the-clock control rooms in the affected districts and to convey information every hour from the field with regard to the flood situation and relief measures taken up.
People have been alerted not to go near overflowing rivulets and streams. District authorities have been asked to evacuate people in low-lying areas to safer places, position the officers at vulnerable and affected areas at the time of flood warning, and to keep ready launches, boats and helicopters, wherever needed, to take prompt action. The authorities were asked to make arrangements to pump out water from inundated areas and to review the situation from time to time to take necessary precautionary measures.
The district collectors were asked to make arrangements for supply of food and safe drinking water and for providing sanitation and deploying medical teams with medicines in the affected places.
The chief secretary instructed the officials of Roads & Buildings, Medical & Health, Irrigation, Panchayat Raj and Agriculture departments to be vigilant and attend to the works pertaining to the respective departments in the affected districts.
