Cyclone 'Nilam': Over 100 rescued from two AP districts

Naval teams on Monday rescued over 100 people from various villages in Visakhapatnam and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh who were trapped following heavy rains following cyclone 'Nilam' last week.

Twenty-eight relief teams, comprising nearly 60 divers of the Eastern Naval Command, rescued over 20 people from low-lying areas of Chodavaram, 60 from Padmanabham and 25 from Yelamnanchili while efforts are on to shift the marooned people to safety.

According to a release, the rescue operations in Nidadavole, Narsingapatnam and Padmanabham blocks have been completed and the teams are re-deployed in other affected areas.

So far, 2,100 people have been rescued since Sunday, the release said, adding over 1300 people were evacuated from Anakapalli and Munagapaka regions alone.

While a Sea King chopper had carried out a rescue operation in the region last evening, two Chetak helicopters and another Sea King of the Eastern Naval Command were pressed into service on Monday for dropping of food packets in Anandapuram, Yadagiriplaem, Kumarapuram, Purushottamapuram and Ganaparthi villages under Munagapaka block and in Kummarapalli and Dimili villages under the Rambilli block.

In addition, Control Posts at the Eastern Naval Command have been working in tandem with the state government in augmenting the ongoing search, rescue and relief efforts, the release added.