The Hindu Business Line : Vizag: Cyclone brings heavy rain; disruption in coastal areas

IN TROUBLED WATERS: A woman watches helplessly as her house gets flooded at Gnanapuram in Visakhapatnam on Monday. A cyclonic storm brought heavy rain to many parts of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. - K.R. Deepak

Visakhapatnam , Sept. 19

THE cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, which crossed the coast at Kalingapatnam in Srikakulam district on Monday, brought immense relief and joy to the water-starved Visakhapatnam, as it rained continuously from Sunday night.

However, it was not an unmixed blessing, as normal life was disrupted in low-lying areas such as Gnanapuram due to inundation and people had to be evacuated and housed in temporary camps. One death was also reported. Operations were suspended at the Visakhapatnam port for the day due to heavy rain.

This year, the north-coastal districts in general, Visakhapatnam city in particular, received very little rainfall and the water levels in the reservoirs went down alarmingly, forcing the civic authorities to discontinue daily water supply and resort to supply on alternate days. The scheme to divert 5 tmc ft of Godavari waters to Visakhapatnam for supply to the industrial units and the municipal corporation had been completed, but the VMC was not in a position to receive the waters as the filtration plant at Narava village was not ready, due to problems with the contractor. The VMC was under great pressure and alternative arrangements were being made to receive the Godavari waters.

The cyclone arrived precisely at that point to the rescue of the civic authorities.

Mr Panduranga Rao, the chief engineer, VMC, said the water levels in all the reservoirs — Gosthani, Mudasarlova, Meghadrigedda, Thatipudi and Raiwada — had gone up substantially and the corporation would resume daily water supply later this week. .

According to the initial estimates of the Agriculture department, paddy crop on a thousand acres and sugarcane on a thousand more may have been inundated in the district.

"However, if the waters recede in the next few days, there may not be much damage and these rains will prove largely beneficial to the crops," said an official of the department.

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