A deep depression over the Bay of Bengal has brought heavy rainfall to parts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, leading to the evacuation of at least 3,500 people and prompting authorities to issue red and orange alerts for several districts.
Incessant rains, due to the depression in the Bay of Bengal, have wrecked havoc in Nellore, Chittoor and Kadapa districts with several tanks being breached.
Heavy rains across Tamil Nadu have caused localised waterlogging and brought down temperatures, particularly in districts like Madurai and Virudhunagar. A tragic incident in Virudhunagar district saw a 17-year-old girl die and her mother injured after a house wall collapsed due to the downpour. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department has forecast the formation of a cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal by October 26, which is expected to move towards North Andhra Pradesh and South Odisha coasts, though it poses no direct threat to Tamil Nadu.
Heavy rain for the last three days claimed 21 lives in Andhra Pradesh, taking the total toll to 36
The southwest monsoon has withdrawn from India, while the northeast monsoon has commenced in southern regions, bringing a wet spell. This year's southwest monsoon saw a rainfall deficit, largely attributed to the strengthening El Nino conditions, which are expected to persist until February 2027 and could become the strongest since 1950.
As many as 15 persons lost their lives in Kurnool district.
Eighteen people were killed in flash floods and heavy rains that lashed four south coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh during the last five days, official sources said on Tuesday.
Torrential rains and resultant deluge in 16 districts of Andhra Pradesh last week left 53 persons dead and caused a loss of Rs 3,756 crore, but the situation is returning to normal with floodwater receding.
This was the fourth-lowest rainfall since 2001 and the 13th lowest since 1901, under the impact of El Niño.
The death toll due to heavy rains and flash floods caused by a deep depression in Andhra Pradesh has risen to 41 on Saturday morning, according to the official count.
Incessant rains have claimed as many as 29 lives in Andhra Pradesh during the past four days while more than 72,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas.
Krishna district, which accounted for 24 deaths in house collapses and heavy rains, was the worst affected.
The main rail and road routes in Andhra Pradesh, connecting the south and east, remained cut off as the Penna river in spate caused heavy destruction on Sunday.
The Andhra Pradesh Government has taken up evacuation work on a large scale in the rain-affected districts and over 88,000 people have been evacuated so far, officials said on Wednesday.
Cyclone Montha crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast, resulting in two deaths, extensive crop damage, and disruptions to power and transportation. Neighboring Telangana also experienced heavy rains. Government relief efforts are underway.
About 40 people went missing on Sunday after a lorry carrying about 50 people was washed away in flash floods in a rivulet in Guntur district as it was drying negotiate the flood waters over a bridge. The tragedy occurred when the toll in the continuing heavy rains and flood over the last two days has mounted to 59 -- 14 of them in the state capital Hyderabad and 13 in Krishna district.
The South Central Railway as well as the East Coast Railway cancelled several trains while some were terminated midway, officials said, adding a few express trains were also diverted.
The district is badly hit by heavy showers as around four thousand people were shifted to 30 shelters by the district administration from flood affected areas.
Severe cyclonic storm 'Montha' has begun making landfall off the Andhra Pradesh coast, with the process expected to continue for the next three to four hours. The storm is expected to cross the coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, near Kakinada, with wind speeds of 90-100 kmph.
The wall collapsed on the Rs 300 ticket queue line near the shopping complex on the ghat road from Simhagiri Bus Stand at around 3 am. Heavy overnight rains and strong winds are suspected to have loosened the soil, causing the structure to fall, Anitha told reporters.
The Odisha government has initiated evacuations and deployed disaster response teams in anticipation of Cyclone 'Montha', which is expected to impact the southern and coastal regions of the state.
Cyclone Hudhud is set to intensify further into a very severe cyclonic storm in the next 12 hours before it makes landfall on October 12.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy visited some inundated areas in their respective territories.
The Indian government has identified 111 districts as 'most vulnerable' to crop damage due to a 43 per cent monsoon deficit, driven by El Nino, which threatens kharif sowing. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated that weak monsoon conditions are expected to persist until July 2, prompting contingency plans and recommendations for alternative, less water-intensive crops.
Meanwhile, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) issued high sea waves, up to 4.7 metres high, warning across several coastal districts.
Tracing the remaining persons was proving a daunting task as the river remained in spate with over two lakh cusecs of floodwater gushing, sources said.
Authorities were busy taking steps to restore the battered infrastructure in Visakhapatnam and other cyclone-hit districts in coastal Andhra Pradesh, apart from ensuring supply of essential commodities.
Vidarbha failed to advance on basis of the bonus points after it finished level on points with Andhra and Jharkhand.
Nationwide protests against the NEET paper leak have intensified across several Indian states, with demonstrators condemning the Delhi Police crackdown and demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The Congress party has called for further demonstrations, while various student and political groups have organised marches and sit-ins, some leading to clashes with police.
The Odisha government has put all 30 districts on alert as a depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a deep depression and is moving towards the east coast. The IMD forecasts very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in Odisha on October 28 and 29.
With the cyclonic storm "Laila", formed in the Bay of Bengal further intensifying into a severe cyclonic storm and the outer periphery of the system reaching very close to Andhra coast, authorities have started evacuating people from low-lying areas in the region to safer places. At least eight people died and 19 fishermen were missing in different rain-related incidents in the state on Tuesday.
The Andhra Pradesh Government has set up about 100 relief camps across the state and air-dropped food packets to people affected by heavy rains and floods even as the situation in East and West Godavari districts turned grim.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the weather situation with senior officials and asked them to incorporate technologies such as drones to assess the deluge and accordingly plan the relief works.
The IMD is predicting close to a 60% probability of deficient rainfall, which means there is a strong possibility that the monsoon this year will be poor.
"Montha over westcentral Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 17 kmph during the past six hours and lay centred at 2.30 am on October 28 over the same region about 230 km south-southeast of Machilipatnam (and) 310 km south-southeast of Kakinada," said the Met Department in a release.
