Rain batters Kolkata, Andhra
kolkata — Life was thrown out of gear in most parts of the metropolis on Saturday, following torrential rain that led to waterlogging in lowlying areas and snapped road links at several places.
The city received 186.1 mm rainfall in the past 24 hours till around noon on Saturday, the Regional Meteorological Centre here said. The Met office has forecast heavy rain for the day.
Commuters were seen wading through knee-deep waters in key thoroughfares, including Central Avenue, College Street, Shakespeare Sarani and Behala.
Vehicular traffic was disrupted in several areas of central, south and north Kolkata, resulting in traffic snarls.
Flight operations were also affected, as take-off and landing was delayed, said a senior official of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
Eastern Railway CPRO Nikhil K Chakraborty said circular railway services were cancelled from 10.40am onwards, due to waterlogging.
Two killed in Andhra
Two persons were killed after floods in Krishna river affected about 90 villages and inundated several habitations in Krishna and Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh, officials said on Saturday.
Over 8,000 people were moved to 56 relief camps as water entered the villages on the banks of the swollen river following heavy discharge of flood water from the upstream reservoirs of Krishna basin.
Some habitations in and around Vijayawada and the capital city region of Amaravati were also inundated as the second warning level continued at Prakasam Barrage across Krishna river. Transportation between Vijayawada and Amaravati came to a halt as the barrage, which connects them, was closed for traffic following rise in the water level.
Flash floods hit Kathua, Samba
Flash floods following heavy rainfall hit Kathua and Samba districts of Jammu region where a man was feared drowned and 15 people, most of them belonging to a nomadic community, were rescued on Saturday, officials said.
Two siblings were washed away on Saturday morning when they tried to cross an overflowing stream on their way home at Kameela village in Vijaypur area of Samba district, a police official said.
He said while 30-year-old Nadiyal was rescued by locals and shifted to a hospital, his elder brother Sain Lal remained untraced and was feared drowned.
17-year-old drowns in Himachal
A 17-year-old boy drowned in an overflowing dam in Kuthera area in Himachal Pradesh district on Saturday, police said.
He had been missing since August 15, and it seems he drowned in the dam which is overflowing because of heavy rains in the district over the past two days, a police spokesperson said. His body has been handed over to the family after postmortem, they said.
Heavy rains have lashed the district over the past two days and the rainfall intensified this morning, affecting normal life, officials said. River Beas and its tributaries, running through the district, are flowing near the danger mark.