Andhra Pradesh irrigation department officials sounded a second warning signal at Dowleswaram barrage near Rajahmundry on the Godavari river on Wednesday as they opened all 175 gates of the barrage to release 14.40 lakh cusecs of water to the downstream. The flood flow continues to increase as heavy rainfall from the upper regions is converging into the river, raising water levels at the barrage to 43.7 feet. East Godavari district collector P Prashanti said: “Due to the second warning signal, instructions have been issued to all the revenue authorities to shift the people in the island villages of Konaseema to safer places.” She appealed to the people living in the villages on the banks of the river to be cautious and not to enter the river waters for bathing and any other purposes.
State disaster management authority managing director R Kurmanath also sounded similar alerts to Alluri Sitarama Raju and Ambedkar Konaseema districts to be cautious and take steps to shift the people to safer locations. An official statement said emergency control rooms have been established in affected areas and rehabilitation centres for displaced residents are being set up. Several island villages in P Gannavaram, Mamidikuduru and Alamuru mandals (blocks) are already marooned and the people there are relying on boats for transportation.
In Telangana’s Bhadrachalam, the water level in the Godavari river touched 50.30 feet, which is above the second warning signal of 48 feet. Several villages along the river course in Kukunoor and Velerpadu blocks, falling under Andhra’s Eluru district, were marooned as well. However, the water levels in the Godavari river downstream of Bhadrachalam has been steadily rising due to massive inflows from Sabari and Seeleru, its tributaries.
The traffic between Bhadrachalam and Koonavaram, where Sabari joins the Godavari river, was completely suspended as the bridge connecting Koonavaram and other villages like VR Puram, Sriramagiri and Pochavaram overflowed. Additionally, 22 villages in Chintoor mandal face extensive waterlogging, while main roads in VR Puram mandal are besieged by floodwaters, obstructing access to 30 surrounding villages. Authorities continue to monitor the situation closely.
Meanwhile, a six-member team from the Centre landed in Vijayawada on Wednesday to assess the loss caused in NTR, Krishna and Guntur districts due to last week’s heavy flooding of the Krishna river.The team, headed by joint secretary of ministry of home affairs Anil Subrahmanyam, held a two-hour meeting with the officials of all the departments concerned and made a preliminary study of the damages caused to these districts.
State revenue and disaster management department’s special chief secretary RP Sisodia explained in detail how the floods had wreaked havoc in the state. The state government pegged the preliminary estimated loss at ₹6,882 crore. The central team later divided into two groups and toured different parts of the affected districts. One team visited Guntur and Bapatla districts, while the other team toured Krishna and NTR districts. The tour will continue on Thursday as well, an official note said.
