Hyderabad, May 20: Seven persons were killed as cyclone Laila today struck Andhra Pradesh coast, inundating large areas, snapping electricity and communication links and disrupting traffic.
Three persons were killed in Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district, two in East Godavari and one each in Krishna and Vizianagaram districts, according to the state Disaster Management authorities, adding two persons were missing in Krishna district.
As the cyclone made landfall near Baptla in Guntur this evening, heavy downpour was witnessed in the district and in Prakasam with the latter suffering maximum damage.
Ongole town, the headquarters of Prakasam district, remained waterlogged as it received 34 cm rainfall in 12 hours since last night.
The government directed the National Disaster Response Force teams to rush to Ongole to step up rescue and relief operations. However, official sources here said that Air Force helicopters could not take part in rescue operations because of the inclement weather.
–Agencies