Farming took the hardest blow when severe cyclone Murasu hit Andhra Pradesh. Early estimates show crops lost on at least 30,661 hectares in 15 districts, the Kolkata daily Ei Samay reported, with paddy, cotton and maize worst affected.
The India Meteorological Department said the storm crossed the coast near Ongole, between Nellore and Narsapur, between 3:30 am and 5:30 am, with winds of 100-110 km an hour gusting to 120. By midnight on Tuesday it had weakened into a deep depression.
Thousands of trees were uprooted, power poles were damaged and low-lying land flooded. Kothapatnam in Prakasam district recorded 164.25 mm of rain in seven hours. Red alerts stayed in force for Krishna, Guntur, Bapatla, Palnadu, Markapuram and Prakasam, where ponds and canals overflowed into settlements.
Before landfall 10,805 people were moved to 171 relief camps. Eleven teams of the National Disaster Response Force and 13 of the state force were deployed.
Heavy to very heavy rain is forecast for the next four days in Bapatla, Guntur, Krishna and other districts, so standing crops are not yet out of danger. The report was written by Kubalay Bandyopadhyay and Saheli Biswas.
Photo: Maheedharg / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Source: Ei Samay
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