India - Severe floods and landslides after heavy rain in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh - Over 6 FEET of rainfall in 24 hours - At least 41 dead (UPDATES)

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Fri, 19 Nov 2021 13:14 UTC

© Kadapa Police

Flood rescue Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh India November 2021.

A depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal brought heavy rainfall to parts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh in southeastern India from 16 November 2021. At least 9 people have died in rain-related incidents in Tamil Nadu. Hundreds of people have been evacuated or rescued by police, military and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry.

Andhra Pradesh

Teams from police, NDRF and military have responded to the worsening flood situation across several districts of Andhra Pradesh. Rescues and evacuations were carried out in Tirupati, Chittoor, Kadapa, Anantapur and Nellore districts.

The Cheyyeru dam in Kadapa district was reportedly breached or damaged, flooding nearby villages. Videos shared on Social Media showed bridges and buildings washed by the overflowing Swarnamukhi river in Tirupati. Workers were reportedly stranded by flood water from the Papaghni River near Vempalli, Kadapa district. Dozens of people were rescued after 3 buses were submerged by floods in Kadapa district.

India's Ministry of Home Affairs reported as of late 18 November at least 10 relief camps set up in the state were housing 339 displaced people.

India's Central Water Commission issued flood alerts for Kadapa, Chittoor, Ananthapuram and Prakasam, Nellore districts. CWC said levels of several rivers are expected to rise including the Krishna and Swarnamukhi, and some dam releases likely.

Some of the heaviest rain was seen in Chittoor District, where several areas saw more than 40 mm fall in 1 hour. Chandragiri recorded 72.2 mm in 1 hour during the afternoon 18 November 2021.

As of 19 November no fatalities had been reported in Andhra Pradesh, which is remarkable given the severity of the situation.

Tamil Nadu and Puducherry

According to media reports, 9 people died after heavy rain caused a building to collapse in Pernambut town, Vellore district of Tamil Nadu late on 18 November 2021. Nine other people were injured in the incident.

The state suffered severe flooding earlier this month when over 11,000 people were displaced and at least 14 died. According to CWC, many reservoirs are still high and further dam releases may be required after further heavy rain brought by the recent depression.

Flood warnings are likely to remain in place for the coming days in several districts, with levels of the Palar, Cooum, Adyar, Kosasthalaiyar, Vellar, Varaha, Ponnaiyar and Cauvery rivers expected to rise.

Meanwhile in neighbouring Puducherry, 1964 mm of rain fell in 24 hours to 18 November. NDRF teams carried out evacuations in Annar Nagar. The Varahanadhi river at Kumarapalayam was above Extreme Flood levels, according to CWC.

Comment: Update: The Times of India reports:

Andhra Pradesh rains: 17 dead, over 100 feared missing in deluge across Rayalaseema districts

At least 17 people died and more than 100 were reportedly missing in separate incidents as incessant rains caused flash floods across the four districts of the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh on Friday.

The depression in the Bay of Bengal led to flash floods triggering off a deluge.

As the Cheyyuru river's water breached the Annamayya project leading to flash floods across several mandals in the Rajampet assembly constituency and other parts of Kadapa district, three APSRTC buses filled with passengers were stuck in the flood water near Ramapuram in Rajampet mandal on Friday.

Though the fire services personnel rescued a majority of the passengers and the APSRTC staff, twelve persons washed away in the flash floods were found dead at various places across Rajampet mandal. While officials retrieved 7 bodies near Gandluru, three more bodies were retrieved near Rayavaram and the bodies of two others were retrieved near Mandapalli.

Meanwhile, 30 persons belonging to Mandapalli, Akepadu, Nandaluru in Rajampet mandal were reportedly washed away in floods and officials have launched a search operation to rescue them.

Rail and road traffic between Tirupati and Kadapa came to a standstill as floodwater damaged the railway tracks and national highways at several places along the route.

While the Kadapa airport has been sealed off till the 25th of this month, nearly 10 trains plying between the Nandalur-Rajampet route have been diverted by the south central railways. APSRTC has also suspended bus services from Tirupati-Kadapa, Tirupati-Piler-Rajampet and other routes as flash floods have damaged roads along these routes.

Meanwhile, a man and his wife who went to the KC canal for some religious rituals on the Karthika Deepotsavam eve were washed away in the floods on Friday. Their bodies were recovered near Padidampadu. The deceased were identified as Raghavendra and Indira, residents of Abbas Nagar in Kurnool.

Tungabhadra river which received heavy inflows was in full spate prompting officials to lift 12 crest gates and release waters downstream. This is the first time in 39 years that the Tungabhadra project reached its full reservoir level in the month of November.

Update 2 : The Economic Times reports on November 21:

Andhra Pradesh floods: Death toll in two districts rises to 41

As floods continue to ravage Andhra Pradesh, the death toll in the Rayalaseema and Nellore districts has risen further from 29 to 41 on Sunday. Six more bodies were retrieved at Rajampet mandal and two fresh flood-related deaths were reported at Chinnamandem mandal in Kadapa district.

Three bodies are yet unidentified at the Rajampet government hospital in Kadapa district, while fifteen bodies have been handed over to the families of the victims. Four deaths were reported in the Nellore district on Sunday.

Two siblings including a woman who tried to cross over the Mandavya river in Chinnamandem mandal were washed away in the strong currents and their bodies were retrieved near Vandadi village. Two unidentified bodies were retrieved near the Somasila project on Sunday.

Nearly 44,275 persons have been evacuated and moved to 92 relief camps across Nellore district.

The floods continued for the fourth consecutive day across Chittoor, Kadapa, Anantapur and Nellore districts.

A road bridge connecting Kadapa-Tadipatri towns along the Papagni river collapsed in the early hours on Sunday, while road connectivity to several villages along the route remained suspended.

Traffic along the national highway also was brought to a grinding halt after the national highway caved in at two places near Nellore.