Prakasam district was the worst hit district in the state due to the Laila Cyclone. The district recorded a rainfall of 34 cms on Thursday inundating the low-lying areas. 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 impact of the squall winds was so powerful that a 650-year-old banyan tree in Prakasam district too was uprooted.
In village like Gutukondavaripalem, a villager have to climb a top of the tree as the flood waters inundated the villages.
Many of the villages in Prakasam district were plunged into darkness following the snapping up of electric wires due to squall winds. Even the Collectorate in Ongole was plunged into darkness and the relief authorities are working round the clock with the help of candles.
The Ongole-Chirala highway was blocked as many uprooted tress blocked the highway.
People living in the low-lying areas had wade through knee-deep waters to reach their homes. Water stood at 3 to 4 feet on the highways disrupting the traffic causing inconvenience to the passengers. In all 112 electric sub-stations were hit by cyclones.
The railway track between Ongole and Gudur was submerged under water with several trains being cancelled.