New Delhi, Sep 4 (PTI) The Centre is closely monitoring the current flood situation in Andhra Pradesh and has constituted a team of experts that will visit the flood-affected areas of the state for an on-the-spot assessment and make recommendations for immediate relief, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday.

So far, 20 people have died in the rains and floods which caused damage in several parts of Andhra Pradesh, especially Vijayawada.

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In a post on 'X', Shah said the Modi government is closely monitoring the flood situation in Andhra Pradesh.

"The MHA today constituted a central team of experts, led by the Additional Secretary (Disaster Management), MHA.

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"The team will visit the flood-affected areas for an on-the-spot assessment of flood management, reservoir management, issues of dam safety, etc. and make recommendations for immediate relief," he said.

On Wednesday, the total number of flood-affected people in Andhra Pradesh rose to 6.44 lakh and 42,707 people have been accommodated in 193 relief camps.

In seven districts of NTR, Guntur, Bapatla, Palnadu, Krishna, Eluru and West Godavari, officials have identified 63,894 families for the distribution of essential items.

Thousands of acres of paddy fields were submerged from Bhimavaram to Gudivada. Between Gudivada and Vijayawada, swathes of flooded fields resembled ponds.

As many as 3,312 km of roads across Andhra Pradesh have been damaged. Agricultural crops in 1.69 lakh hectares were damaged and horticultural crops in 18,424 hectares.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)