A young man and his mother got stuck in the floodwaters while travelling to Vijayawada, thanks to Google Maps.
The incident occurred on Friday, September 6. The two have been identified as Gautham, a PG medical student, and his mother, Rama Kumari, both residents of Nunna in Vijayawada rural mandal.
Due to a heavy downpour, Gautham was staying with family and friends. On Friday, when the rains subsided Gautham drove to his village Nunna to bring back his mother.
Gautham relied on Google Maps for a safe journey. However, unaware of the severity and rising water levels, his car abruptly stopped and got stuck in flood waters.
The rising water level amounted to tension as the vehicle’s doors got jammed.
Using a quick sense of mind, Gautham called up the district control room for help. Officials responded promptly, dispatching Lanke Nageswara Rao, a fisherman working for the panchayat, along with expert swimmer Arja Sudarshan and some villagers.
They managed to break the car windows and rescue Gautham and his mother.
The unprecedented floods have affected more than 2.70 lakh people in Vijayawada. Thousands of people have been shifted to relief camps.
Authorities continued dropping food and other relief materials through helicopters and drones. Boats and vehicles were also being used to supply food and drinking water packets to people in marooned neighbourhoods. A team of 40 engineers of the Indian Army flew from a special plane to the flood hit areas on Friday morning
