Five places in Andhra Pradesh log very heavy rainfall in 24 hours; more rains predicted till Friday

Amaravati: As many as five places in coastal Andhra Pradesh have recorded very heavy rainfall in the 24 hours from 8:30 am on Tuesday, said a Meteorological department official on Wednesday.

Narsipatnam in Anakapalli district and Nuziveedu in Eluru district logged rainfall of 12 centimetres each. Eluru town in the eponymous district witnessed 11 cm rainfall, followed by Chintur in Alluri Sitaramaraju district and Machilipatnam in Krishna district recording 10 cm each, the official told PTI on Wednesday.

According to rainfall classification by the India Meteorological Department, downpour within a 24-hour period of 64.5 mm (6.45 cm) to 115.5 mm (11.5 cm) is considered heavy rain, and 115.6 mm to 204.4 mm is considered very heavy rain.

Three places recorded 9 cm rainfall, Gudivada in Krishna district, and Kukunoor and Polavaram (Eluru) while Vijayawada city logged 8 cm rainfall.

Further, eight places registered rainfall of 7 cm each during the 24-hour period: Visakhapatnam city, Koyyalagudem and Kaikaluru in Eluru district, Kunavaram (Alluri Sitaramaraju), Lama (Guntur), Sompeta (Srikakulam) Tuni (Kakinada) and Nandigama (NTR.

Meanwhile, the Met department noted that the low pressure area over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal off north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coasts continues to persist, and is yet to aggravate into a depression.

Under the influence of this weather system, moderate rains (15.6 mm to 64.4 mm within a 24-hour period) are likely to occur in several places across coastal AP and Rayalaseema regions of the southern state on Wednesday and Thursday, said the official.

Vijayawada city and surrounding villages have been getting continuous rainfall on Wednesday.

Further, the Met department has forecast extremely heavy rainfall (more than 204.5 mm in a 24-hour period) at one or two places on Thursday in Eluru, NTR, Palnadu, Guntur and Krishna districts, including very heavy rainfall in all these districts.

It has forecast very heavy rainfall on Thursday at one or two places in the districts of Prakasam, Bapatla, West Godavari and Alluri Sitaramaraju.

Similarly, heavy rainfall has been forecast in one or two places of Konaseema, Kakinada, East Godavari, Kurnool, Nandyal and Anantapur district for the same day.

For Friday, heavy rainfall has been forecast for one or two places in Alluri Sitaramaraju and Eluru districts.

Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea as squally weather with wind speeds reaching up to 45-55 km per hour and also gusting up to 65 kmph are likely over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal.

The Met department has also suggested that authorities take measures to prevent flooding, landslides, uprooting of trees, crop damage and traffic congestion.