By IANS
Hyderabad : Heavy rains continued to lash parts of Andhra Pradesh for the fourth consecutive day Thursday as the death toll in the resulting floods climbed to 48.
Six districts continued to reel under massive floods as the heavy rains under the impact of low-pressure area over Bay of Bengal were lashing several districts, disrupting the normal life.
Revenue Minister Dharmana Prasad Rao, who reviewed the flood situation, told the media that with more deaths reported from the affected areas, the toll had risen to 48 during last four days.
While 21 people were killed due to thunderbolts, 27 died due to house collapse and drowning.
Disaster Management Commissioner Preeti Sudan said 85,000 people were evacuated from affected areas and moved to relief camps.
The normal life was badly hit in the affected areas as the floodwater has damaged the roads and the bridges in Kurnool, Guntur, Nellore, Mahbubnagar, Warangal and Khammam districts.
About 8,000 houses were damaged by the heavy rains and floods. Standing crops over 100,000 hectares of land were also inundated. The road communication was disrupted as the water was flowing over the roads at many places, especially in Kurnool and Kahamma districts.
The heavy rains in the neighbouring Karnataka and Maharashtra states over the last few days added to the woes of the people in these districts.
The continuing rains were also hampering relief operations in the affected districts.
The meteorological department has forecast more rains over the next 36 hours.
The Visakhapatnam Cyclone Warning Centre said the low-pressure area lay between Machlipatnam and Kakinada ports and was moving in north-westerly direction. It was likely to intensify further and develop into depression before hitting the coast of Andhra Pradesh.
The centre has forecast widespread rains in all the three regions of coastal Andhra, Rayala Seema and Telangana.