Cyclone Phethai, which made landfall on Monday afternoon, caused havoc for the people along the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh and officials there. The cyclone, which was accompanied by strong and gusty winds, has resulted in heavy showers across the state and claimed two lives, as it hit the coast near Katrenikona of Kakinada on Monday afternoon.

But one occurrence that seemingly amused people was a strange phenomenon, which locals are calling “fish rain”, that happened after the cyclone. A video that has been going viral on social media since Monday evening shows several fishes either dead or thrashing about in the puddles formed after the rains, in what seems to be a residential area.

The rare phenomenon reportedly took place in Amalapuram town of East Godavari. Though it’s commonly referred to as fish rain, experts have ruled it out saying that the phenomenon is possibly the result of strong winds that caused the fishes to get tossed out from water bodies and ponds.

According to Dr NM Krishna, a Senior Research Fellow at the Central Institute of Fisheries (CIFT) in Visakhapatnam, such incidents occur when rains are accompanied by strong and high speed winds. He added, “Winds and aeration of water in fish habitats and ponds can result in fluctuation of dissolved oxygen (DO). When DO level decreases, fishes will try to move out of ponds and may get displaced by winds.”

Dr Krishna further added that the pH (alkalinity of water soluble substances) levels can also show such impact.

E Ananda Rao, Assistant Director of Fisheries Amalapuram, speaking to TNM about the reports, said, “We can’t say that it’s fish rain without any scientific merit, we are yet to examine what exactly happened.”

According to sources, a resident of Amalapuram captured the video on his phone and circulated it among his friends, which later spread on social media.

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