Vijayawada: Home and disaster management minister Vangalapudi Anitha held a video conference on Wednesday with district collectors and officials from line departments of the coastal districts to review their preparedness for the heavy rains caused by a low-pressure area over the west-central and northwest Bay of Bengal.

The meeting was attended by special chief secretary of disaster management G Jayalakshmi, director Prakhar Jain, SDRF IG Rajakumari, the NDRF Commandant, IMD Amaravati director Stella, APSDMA executive director Venkata Deepak, and other officials. Fishermen have been warned not to venture into the sea until Sunday. For emergency assistance, the public is advised to contact the disaster management control room via toll-free numbers 112, 1070, and 18004250101. The minister also instructed collectors to establish control rooms in their districts and ensure field-level officials are available to assist residents in rain-affected areas.

Regarding the Krishna river, officials reported that the Prakasam Barrage has an inflow and outflow of 3,44,638 cusecs. They anticipate the water level will reach the first warning level by tomorrow, with a potential peak of 4 to 4.5 lakh cusecs. Anitha urged officials in the affected districts of Bapatla, Guntur, Krishna, NTR, and Palnadu to constantly alert people in low-lying riverine areas. She also stressed the need to install warning signs in dangerous locations where streams, canals, and culverts are overflowing.

NDRF and SDRF teams have been placed on standby for rescue operations. The minister ordered the immediate removal of dangerous hoardings and fallen trees to prevent public inconvenience. She cautioned people to stay away from hoardings, dilapidated buildings, and trees, and urged them not to believe rumors spread on social media.

District collectors from Guntur, NTR, and Krishna provided updates on their precautionary measures, including keeping officials on a 24/7 alert at village secretariats. Collectors from Guntur and Bapatla reported that they had already rescued people trapped in floods caused by overflowing streams and confirmed that sandbags and essential supplies were ready.