Second warning issued in Andhra, Telangana as Godavari flood surge continues

As the water level in the Godavari continued to rise at Bhadrachalam, low-lying areas were inundated and road links were cut off in a few places.
Bhadrachalam town: Second warning issued in Andhra, Telangana as Godavari flood surge continues
Bhadrachalam town: Second warning issued in Andhra, Telangana as Godavari flood surge continues
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The second flood warning signal has been raised at Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowaleswaram near Rajamahendravaram as the flood flow in river Godavari rose to 13.19 lakh cusecs (cubic foot of water flow per second) on the morning of Thursday, August 11. In Telangana too, the second flood warning (for 48 feet) is in place at Bhadrachalam. As of 12 pm on  Thursday, the water level at Bhadrachalam was 52 feet, with the flow in the river touching 13,70,888 cusecs. The third warning level mark is 53 feet. The Godavari and Krishna rivers are in spate with the heavy inflows from upstream states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. As the water level in the Godavari continued to rise at Bhadrachalam, low-lying areas were inundated and road links were cut off in a few places.

In Andhra Pradesh, three teams each of the National Disaster Response Force and the SDRF have been positioned in BR Ambedkar Konaseema, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Eluru districts for carrying out rescue and relief operations as several mandals are affected by the flood. State Disaster Management Authority Managing Director BR Ambedkar said Collectors of the respective districts have been put on alert in view of the increase in the flood. "We are constantly monitoring the situation from the State Emergency Operations Centre here and taking necessary steps," Ambedkar said.

The Inter-Ministerial Team of officials from the Union government is touring BR Ambedkar Konaseema district to assess the damage caused by the Godavari flood last month. Meanwhile, the Srisailam reservoir on river Krishna has been filled to the brim, following which over 3.96 lakh cusecs of water are being discharged downstream. Consequently, the Nagarjuna Sagar dam downstream is also filling up gradually and inching closer to the full reservoir level, according to the Andhra Pradesh Water Resources Information and Management System data.

Dr KL Rao Pulichintala reservoir, further down Nagarjuna Sagar, is receiving about 50,000 cusecs of water and letting out 73,192 cusecs as a flood cushion of about 7 thousand million cubic ft is being maintained. All crest gates of the Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada have been opened to let out close to one lakh cusecs of flood water into the Bay of Bengal.

With the rise in water level at Bhadrachalam, low-lying villages downstream were inundated. Road links Bhadrachalam to Dummugudem, Cherla, Venkatapuram and Wajedu mandal (blocks) were cut off. According to the Central Water Commission, Godavari is in a severe flood situation at Perur in the Mulugu district of Telangana. 

The irrigation officials have also lifted 10 crest gates of Nagarjuna Sagar up to 10 feet to release the water downstream. The inflow at Sagar was 2.37 lakh cusecs. The water level at Nagarjuna Sagar was 587.80 feet against the full reservoir level of 590 feet. The full capacity of Nagarjuna Sagar is 312.04 tmc while the current water storage is 305.30 tmc, according to IANS.

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