The rare phenomenon happens when strong winds of cyclonic storms like Phethai sometimes carry displaced fish, frogs from the water bodies and drop on the land. According to sources, there was a ‘fish rain’ witnessed by residents of Amalapuram at around 4 pm. Nearly 100 fish, locally called as “Gidasalu” in Telugu dropped on the land along a canal in front of a municipal school when the cyclone was making landfall in Yanam, which is close to Amalapuram.
A meteorologist from Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said that strong winds of the storms like Cyclone Phethai sometimes carry displaced fish, frogs from the water bodies and drop on the land. Coastal areas in Andhra Pradesh were battered with heavy rains Monday, leaving several trees and electric poles uprooted and claiming the life of one person.
A boat carrying seven fishermen went missing in the Bay of Bengal off Visakhapatnam, even as Phethai crossed the coast in East Godavari district and moved towards Odisha. The IMD in a statement said that the Deep Depression over Coastal Andhra Pradesh moved nearly northwards with a speed of 11 kmph and gradually weakened into a depression.
Sixteen teams of Andhra Pradesh Disaster Response and Fire Services were deployed in and around Rajamahendravaram, while another nine (of five members each) have been in West Godavari district for road clearance. East Godavari district bore the brunt of the storm as it made landfall near Katrenikona, forcing the evacuation of 20,000 people, who have been sheltered in relief camps.