© G.N. Rao A farmer at a flooded cotton field at Nelakondapally in Khammam district on Friday
Long after it has crossed the coast, cyclone Nilam continues to make its impact felt as torrential rainfall under its influence threatens to inundate outlying areas of two cities - Vijayawada and Eluru - in Andhra Pradesh.
Vijayawada received 17 cm of rain since Friday evening, constituting nearly 20 per cent of its annual rainfall. This has forced the authorities to suspend train and bus services.
Flood waters entered Vidhyadharapuram, HB Colony and Kabela in Vijayawada. Although the rain had stopped, water did not recede as Budameru, a stream, was discharging 8,000 cusecs of water. Drains in Vijayawada that empty into Budameru were blocked due to silting. Municipal Commissioner G. Bhaskar said that many areas in One Town were inundated as garbage had blocked the drains.
All the 70 gates of Prakasam Barrage across the Krishna were lifted and 49,000 cusecs of water was being discharged in the morning. The flow, however, came down to 29,000 cusecs by noon.