Seven deaths were reported from Kurnool, 6 km from Karimnagar, including five due to thunderbolt, three each from Anantapur and Hyderabad and one each from East Godavari and Chittoor districts.

Revenue Minister T Devender Goud told newsmen that standing crops of sunflower, cotton, groundnut and paddy were damaged in more than 78,000 hectares.

He said that nearly 1000 families were evacuated from low-lying areas in Nellore town to relief camps. Relief camps were also opened at Punganuru and Palamaner in Chittoor districts. He said that 52 tanks and one minor irrigation tank had breached. The government has released Rs 2 crore for undertaking immediate repairs to the breached tanks and roads. Control roomshave been set up in all the coastal districts and the collectors have been alerted.

The weather office here meanwhile said that the depression lay centered at 150 km southeast of Machilipatnam and was expected to cross the coast tonight between Kakinada and Bapatla. The weather office forecast moderate to heavy rainfall at most places in the coastal districts and at many places over Rayalaseema and Telangana during the next 24 hours.

During the last 24 hours, Kalingapatnam recorded a rain-fall of 12 cm, Ongole 9 cm, Visakhapatnam, Podilli, Dharmavaram and Avanigadda 7 cm each and Koilakuntla, Kakinada, Tanuku, and Kandukuru 6 cm each.

A report from vijayawada said that about 300 people in low-lying areas were shifted to safer places as the river Krishna was in spate with 4 lakh cusecs discharged from Prakasam barrage to maintain the normal water level.

A report from Eluru said that all major drains and rivulets in West Godavari district were overflowing and 2714 people were shifted from low-lyingareas. Nearly 1000 houses were inundated and nearly 200 houses damaged.