Amid rising water levels in various reservoirs, several villages in the East and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh have lost road connectivity, and authorities have started evacuating people from flood-prone villages where needed. Officials in Krishna and Kurnool districts have also asked people residing in low-lying areas to be on alert, with the inflows rising at the Prakasam barrage and Tungabhadra dam. In East and West Godavari districts, several flood rehabilitation centres have been established, and preparations have been made to supply essential commodities by boat to villages in tribal areas cut off from roads.
With rising Godavari water levels, the second warning was issued at Bhadrachalam on Saturday night as water levels reached 48.6 feet. However, water levels have since receded.
Speaking to TNM, Venkata Ramana, Project Officer of ITDA (Integrated Tribal Development Agency) Chintoor, said that between the first and second warning at Bhadrachalam, Chintoor villages mainly face road blockage without the inundation of villages. “There are a few villages where evacuation has to happen between first and second level warning. So far, partial evacuation has been done and around 750 to 800 families have been moved out of their homes to shelter centres. A few others have moved to highlands nearby,” he said, adding that the real impact will be seen after the second warning when water levels reach 50 ft at Bhadrachalam. “For now, since the water has receded, full-scale evacuation hasn’t been done yet. Disaster relief teams are on standby and shelter homes have been prepared and mapped to flood-prone villages,” he said.
So far, around 19 habitations in Chintoor have been cut off from roads. The officer said that ration for three months has been distributed in advance to villages that cannot be reached in flood season, and kerosene has been deployed in case electricity supply is disrupted when water levels rise higher. Police were deployed to Polavaram, Buttayagudem, Jeelugumilli, Velerupadu and Kukunoor mandals in West Godavari to prevent loss of life and property, and several families were moved to shelter homes. On Saturday, the water level at the Polavaram cofferdam crossed 33 meters, and all 48 gates were lifted at the Polavaram spillway to release 5.82 lakh cusecs of flood discharge.
Several habitations in Devipatnam and P Gannavaram mandals of East Godavari have also been cut off from roads with streams and water bodies overflowing, and many villages have been placed on high alert, with rescue teams on standby.
At Dowleswaram barrage, the first flood warning (at 10.75 ft water level) was likely to be issued soon, Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) Commissioner K Kannababu said on Sunday afternoon. As of 2 pm on Sunday, the inflows and outflows at the barrage stood at 9.41 lakh cusecs. Two NDRF and three SDRF teams have been deployed for emergency rescue operations at Kunavaram, VR Puram and Chintoor of East Godavari district, and Jangareddygudem, KR Puram of West Godavari district.
In Kurnool, the Tungabhadra dam also has heavy inflows due to heavy rains in its catchment areas in Karnataka. The reservoir, which has a capacity of 100.855 tmc, was filled up to 73.357 tmc as of Saturday afternoon, officials said, asking people living in the river basin area to be on alert. On Sunday morning, 15,200 cusecs of water were reportedly released from the dam, as the water level reached 1628.15 ft (against the dam’s total capacity of 1633 ft) at Munirabad in Karnataka’s Koppal district. As of Sunday, the reservoir was filled up to 83.28 tmc.