Heatwave death toll crosses 500 in Andhra, Telangana

Hyderabad, May 25: The death toll due to intense heatwave sweeping Telangana and Andhra Pradesh crossed the 500 figure today, disaster management officials said here.

In Telangana, the toll stood at 215 from May 15 till today, said Special Commissioner for Disaster Management, Sada Bhargavi.

In Andhra Pradesh, the number stood at 302 till this evening and data from different districts was still being compiled, said Tulsi Rani, Special Commissioner for Disaster Management. [Heat wave claims 30 more lives in Telangana, Andhra

Temperatures have been hovering around 45 degrees Celsius in both the states for the last few days. A bulletin from the MeT department said Ramagundam, Nalgonda and Khammam recorded 45 degrees Celsius during the past 24 hours as per the observations recorded at 8.30 AM today.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had directed the state administration to open camps for providing drinking water and butter milk as a measure of protection against the severe heat conditions.

He also appealed to the general public to avoid sun from 11 AM to 4.30 PM, if possible. Meanwhile, a weather department official said in Visakhapatnam that the heatwave conditions will prevail for another day and thundershowers are likely to occur in the north-coastal Andhra Pradesh by tonight or tomorrow.

PTI