The Prakasam Barrage is likely to receive five lakh cusecs of floodwater on Friday as dams and reservoirs upstream of the Krishna are brimming with heavy inflows.
Officials said that the Srisailam Dam had lifted all 10 gates to a height of 12 feet and released 4.51 lakh cusecs of floodwater. Also, at Nagarjuna Sagar, around 4.13 lakh cusecs of water was discharged. Officials at the Pulichintala project released 3.97 lakh cusecs due to heavy inflows.
As a result, the floodwater may reach the barrage in the early hours of Friday, said Superintending Engineer S. Tirumala Rao on Thursday.
Several mandals put on alert
Krishna Collector P. Ranjit Basha alerted the officials concerned in view of the rising flood levels in the Krishna.
According to a release, Mr. Basha said that the first flood warning is likely to be issued at Prakasam Barrage on Friday morning following heavy inflows from projects upstream, he said.
He said people and officials should be cautious and avoid swimming in the river, or taking cattle for rearing near the river.
Officials were asked to alert locals in the villages of Nagayalanka, Avanigadda, Mopidevi, Challapalli, Movva and other mandals that are prone to flooding.
The district administration has set up a flood control room at the Collectorate and people in need can call 08672-252572. People from Vuyyuru can call the control room at 9849231336 and those living in Machilipatnam division can call 9849903982.
