Even as flood situation continues to be grim in Andhra Pradesh, at least 40 people were feared dead as a lorry in which they were traveling was washed away in a flooded rivulet in Guntur district, 350 km east of Hyderabad on Sunday morning. While six persons survived, three bodies were recovered. The district superintendent of police Mahesh Chandra Laddha said that the search was on for the missing people. Apart from this tragedy, the devastation caused by heavy rains and floods in 10 districts of the state including the capital Hyderabad has mounted to 59. while the death toll in Hyderabad was 14, another 13 persons were killed in Krishna district. Other deaths were reported from Visakhapatnam, West Godavari, Guntur, Nalgonda, Medak, Khammam, Karimnagar, Warangal and Nalgonda. The lorry was going to Amravati Mandal in Gutur district and the people who were stuck because of the suspension of public transport service for the last two days due to rains and floods, had boarded it to return home. While the lorry was crossing Kondaveeti Vagu at Narakullapadu village, the strong current, the flash flood in the rivulet washed it away. 45-year-old Lakshmi Narayana, who survived the accident along with his son Ramakrishna, said, “We were forced to take the lorry as the bus service was not running. The driver lost control over the vehicle as it tried to cross through the flood water flowing over the road.” According to the police there were 10 women and five children among the missing persons. Most of the victims were from Tallur village of Peddakurapadu mandal. There was no sign of any improvement in the flood situation across the state as rains continued overnight. Half of the Khammam city was under water. Water had also entered the Eluru town of West Godavari district. Warangal was also in the spate of massive floods as the rivulets and tanks were overflowing. The situation in the state capital Hyderabad was also grim as 42 colonies including post Toli Chowki area were inundated since yesterday. As water was discharged from Hussain Sagar lake, one child was washed away in the drain. Normal life remains paralyzed in many parts of the state capital as thousands of people were trying to cope with the floods in their areas. Hundreds of houses in Maqta Madar and Nadeem Colony areas remained under water. Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy after reviewing the situation with the officials on Sunday told the media that the state government had opened 85 relief camps across the state and is providing the evacuated people with food and drinking water. __
