Andhra floods: Second warning issued at Dowleswaram Barrage, 7 NDRF & SDRF teams on stand by

East Godavari: A second level warning has been issued at Dowleswaram Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage in East Godavari district after the water level reached 13.75 feet at 6.30 pm on Thursday.

The flood water inflow at Bhadrachalam is at second warning level with water level reaching 47.8 ft. Water inflows and outflows at Dowleswaram were 13.05 lakh cusecs and at the second warning level.

Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) director B R Ambedkar said the barrage will continue to receive heavy flooding for another two days owing to torrential downpour in Telangana and Maharashtra.

“By 7 pm on Thursday, the flood water inflow at Bhadrachalam is at the second warning level with the water level reaching 47.8 ft. Water inflows and outflows at Dowleswaram were 13.05 lakh cusecs and at the second warning level,” said Ambedkar.

Given the rising water levels, officials fear that 43 mandals and 458 villages in six districts will be affected. These villages are located in Alluri Sitaramaraju, East Godavari, Eluru, Kakinada, Konaseema, and West Godavari.

The department is monitoring the flood situation regularly and alerting the district administrations. Three national disaster response force (NDRF) and four state disaster response force (SDRF), are on standby.

An official said that flood waters outflow at Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada from Krishna River reached 1.42 lakh cusecs. He requested people living in low-lying areas to remain alert.

The state control room numbers 1070 and 18004250101 are available round the clock for people.

Flood water outflow at Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada from Krishna River reached 1.42 lakh cusecs and the people in the low-lying areas along the river were asked to be cautious.

Jagan asks officials to be alert

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has directed the officials to take all possible relief and rescue measures. He told them to avail the services of village and ward secretariat staff and volunteers in relief measures. “There should be no scarcity of drinking water and other relief material for the victims,” he said.

Officials apprised the Chief Minister of the flood situation in the East and West Godavari, Eluru, and Konaseema districts. Necessary funds have already been released to set up relief camps and take other relief measures.

Control rooms & rescue teams in flood-prone areas

Control rooms have been set up in all the flood-prone areas. Three NDRF and four SDRF teams have been kept ready for relief measures in 458 villages of 42 Mandals. Along with the rescue teams, 150 boats are also kept ready in vulnerable areas.

Rehabilitation centers have been set up in the Kukunuru and Velerupadu Mandals of the Eluru district. Medicines and other relief materials were also kept ready. Rescue teams are on alert to take all possible relief measures in flood-prone areas of West Godavari district too.

Evacuation from islands

A total of 25 islands (Lanka villages) were cut off from the mainland. The evacuation operation in these areas is in progress.

BR Ambedkar Konaseema District Collector Himanshu Shukla said they have identified 32 vulnerable points, which have been strengthened temporarily. He said that the teams are gearing up to tackle the situation in case of third warning signal is issued at Dowleswaram.

Teams were deployed in Lanka villages and around 120 boats were deployed in the flood-hit areas.

RTC Buses diverted:

Given the heavy floodwater flow at Ithavaram village, Hyderabad-bound buses from Vijayawada have been diverted towards Guntur, Piduguralla, and Dachepalli for the convenience of the passengers.

Funds allocated for five districts

The state government sanctioned funds to meet the immediate expenses for rescue and relief operations during the Godavari floods.

District Collectors of Alluri Sitaramaraju, East Godavari, Dr. BR Ambedkar Konaseema, Eluru, and West Godavari have been directed to hire APSRTC buses for transporting victims to the relief camps. The collectors are asked to use Government Schools/Colleges as relief camps and cyclone shelters.

District Collectors are asked to take the assistance of the TR&B Department Municipal/ Panchayat Raj/ SDRF force for clearance of fallen trees on roads wherever to minimize the expenditure on clearance of roads and optimum utilization of resources available with the department.

Traffic on NH-65 diverted

Due to heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh, Munneru River in Nandigama mandal is overflowing, disrupting vehicular movement at NH-65 (Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway). On Thursday evening, huge traffic snarls were seen in the area. NTR Deputy Police Commissioner Vishal Gunni visited the area.

NTR district police have issued traffic advisory.

From Hyderabad, go via Narketpally - Miryalaguda - Dachepalli - Piduguralla - Sattenapalli - Guntur - Vijayawada - Eluru - Rajahmundry - Visakhapatnam.

From Visakhapatnam, go via - Rajahmundry - Eluru - Vijayawada - Guntur - Sattenapalli-Piduguralla - Dachepalli - Miryalaguda - Narketpally - Hyderabad.

For any information contact control room number 7328909090.