At least 17 people were killed and three others were missing as cyclone Laila left a trail of devastation in coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh damaging road networks and destroying crops. State Disaster Management Commissioner T Radha said that seven people were killed in Krishna district,including five in a wall collapse in Vijayawada city,while four persons lost their lives in Nellore,three in Guntur,two in East Godavari and one in Prakasam district. Two persons were missing in Krishna district and one in East Godavari since yesterday when the cyclone made the landfall in Macchalipatnam area,he said. Giving details,he said five members of a family were buried alive under a wall that collapsed on their hut at Chittinagar in Vijayawada this morning.There was also a landslip in the area but no one was killed. Official sources here said crops suffered extensive damage while road network remained badly battered due to heavy rains caused by the cyclonic storm. The storm was heading towards Orissa this morning from Vizianagaram in north coastal Andhra. Many colonies in Ongole town in Prakasam district - which bore the brunt of Laila - remained marooned due to a constant downpour in the last two days. Over 300 Army personnel,besides teams of National Disaster Response Force,have been rushed to Ongole for rescue and relief operations. Chief Minister K Rosaiah,who planned to undertake an aerial survey in Prakasam district,put off his journey due to bad weather,the sources said. Rosaiah is now reviewing the situation with his Cabinet colleagues and top officials in the state secretariat,they said. In East Godavari district,air,rail and road traffic was disrupted due to heavy rains. Three persons were killed in East Godavari district yesterday and one person missing even as over 3,000 people in low-lying areas were shifted to relief camps and nearby schools,District Collector M Ravichandra said. "We will observe the situation for another 24 hours before reviewing it with higher authorities," he said. Control rooms have been set up at Amalapuram,Kakinada,Samalkota and other places to monitor the situation,he said. Special officer Prasad appointed by the state government to coordinate relief and rehabilitation measures along with other senior irrigation officials are monitoring water level in various tanks and canals in the district and taking all preventive measures to stop leakages and making repairs,he said.
