Floods wreak havoc in Andhra, Karnataka, Goa; lakhs evacuated

HYDERABAD: Sixteen people were killed and over 4.5 lakh people evacuated after massive floods 

inundated parts of Andhra Pradesh as the state View of the submerged Kurnool town in Andhra Pradesh on Friday. Flood situation remains grim in the state. (PTI) More Pictures government stepped up relief and rescue efforts with the help of 550 army personnel.  Though the number of deaths due to the floods is 16, the toll is likely to increase further, revenue minister D Prasada Rao said here on Saturday.  Rescue personnel evacuated 1.5 lakh people in Kurnool district, 1.34 lakh people in Mahaboobnagar district, 15,000 people in Krishna district and 5,000 flood victims in Guntur district.  Times of india About 105 relief camps have been started in the districts of Kurnool, Mahaboobnagar, Krishna, Guntur and Nalgonda to help those affected by the floods, Rao said.  Though the water level in the three worst-hit districts of Kurnool, Mahaboobnagar and Krishna has receded slightly, there is a need to stay on alert, he said.  Chief minister K Rosaiah said earlier in the day that the flood situation in Kurnool and Mahaboobnagar districts of Andhra Pradesh has improved with water levels receding.  Massive rescue and relief operation are being organised in the affected areas with seven helicopters, 550 army personnel and 165 personnel of National Disaster Response Force, 48 boats of (NDRF) and 90 boats of various agencies have been pressed into service.  The inflow of water in the Srisailam dam was 28 lakh cusecs and outflow was 14.04 lakh cusecs. The inflow water in to the Srisailam dam is likely to come down by the evening, which may provide relief to Kurnool district.  In Nagarjunasagar dam, the outflow of water was 8.06 lakh cusecs.  The revenue minister said lakhs of food and water sachets and other relief material are being distributed to the flood victims in all the districts.  K V P Ramachandra Rao, advisor to the state government, said several ministers are involved in relief and rescue efforts in various districts.  Havoc in Karnataka  BANGALORE: With 12 more fatalities reported today, the death toll due to flood fury triggered by torrential rains in north Karnataka rose to 118.  Twenty-seven people have died in Bijapur district, the worst-hit, followed by Raichur (21), Koppal (18), Gulbarga (16) and Bagalkote (13) since the past five days, official sources said.  Till recently, many talukas in these districts faced drought-like conditions.  Eleven people have died in Bellary district in rain-related incidents this week, while Belgaum and Gadag accounted for six and five lives respectively, police said.  Police said the toll might go up as information was not available from some of the rain-ravaged areas.  Hundreds of houses have been submerged and around 30,000 houses collapsed in pounding rains.  The situation, described as "unprecedented" in the northern region by chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, has prompted the state government to call out the Army, Navy and IAF personnel to facilitate rescue and relief operations.  Rivers in the region are in spate with flash floods throwing normal life out of gear, official sources said, adding, road and rail services have been severely hit in the affected areas .  Meanwhile, rains have abated in some of the districts which bore the brunt of havoc since last night, they said.  The state government has announced that it would build houses under Ashraya Scheme to those who have lost their dwellings.  The state government had yesterday released Rs 100 crore to take up rescue and relief operations on a war-footing.  IAF has pressed into service helicopters to assist in relief and rescue operations. The IAF aircrafts have been dropping relief materials, mainly food packets, in and around flood-hit areas and rescuing marooned people, police said.  The temple town of Mantralaya in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district bordering Raichur district in Karnataka, where the famous Raghavendraswamy mutt is located, was also submerged.  Rescue operations were in full swing at Kadawada village in Uttara Kannada district where a major landslip from a hillock has buried eight houses, officials said.  A team of police, navy and air force personnel was engaged in the exercise since last evening, they said.  A senior police official from the scene said ten to 15 people might have been trapped under the mounds, police said, adding, chances of their survival were very slim.  Rains lash Goa  PANAJI, GOA: As the incessant rains continued lashing the state today, several people remained trapped in their houses in the border taluka of Canacona where over 250 houses have collapsed so far in the flood.  State administration confirmed that other 400 houses were inundated due to rains which has been hitting the state for last three days.  Goa chief minister Digamber Kamat has rushed to the affected area where the district administration coupled with army and navy has initiated intense rescue operations.  Official figures confirmed the death of two people who were washed away in the flood waters.  Kamat last night addressing a press conference in the south district headquarters of Margao said that no efforts were spared to bring marooned people to safety.  The villages Poinguinim, Partagali, Delem, Agonda and Khotigao remained under water throughout night. The signs of monsoon receding seemed bleak as MET department predicted the showers to continue for next two days.