Ongole severely hit by cyclone

Ongole  experienced  heavy rains under the  influence of  Cyclone 'Laila' which lay centered  in  Bay  of  Bengal at about 120 km northeast of Nellore on Thursday.

Ongole  town  experienced  a  record  rainfall of 13 cm. Heavy rains  accompanied by   gale winds  touching  110 to 115 kmph caused extensive  damage uprooting  many  trees and snapping  of the electrical  wires.  Hundreds of electric poles were  razed to the  ground due to  the gale winds.

The Simhapuri  Express  proceeding to Gudur  from Secunderabad  was detained  at  Ongole. The Yeshwantapur Express was halted at  Ulavapadu.  Several trains  were  cancelled . Hundreds of  acres of mango crop has been  destroyed due the  gale winds.

Many  areas  in and around Ongole were plunged into a darkness.Hundreds  of  people  have already been evacuated while some more  are  shifting  to safer places on their own from the  low-lying  areas.

The situation turned grim as a major part of Ongole is already submerged in water.  Experts fear the Cyclone would have a crippling impact on the people  of Prakasam  district, as the rains have already destroyed the standing crop of rice, banana and mangoes over hundreds of  acres in the  district.