As the Godavari at Bhadrachalam crossed the second flood warning level of 48 feet on Wednesday night, the authorities started evacuating people living in the low-lying areas in the temple town and in the riverside villages elsewhere in the tribal majority district.
The river received heavy inflows of over 1.79 lakh cusecs from Taliperu reservoir in the immediate upstream on Wednesday evening.
The combined high volume inflows from other irrigation projects in the upper reaches led to a sharp rise in the water level in Godavari along its river course in Bhadrachalam Agency.
About 11.11 lakh cusecs of water flowed in the Godavari at Bhadrachalam at 8 p.m. even as the water level in the river continued to swell when reports last came in.
Several families of Kotha Colony and other low-lying areas of Bhadrachalam were shifted to the relief camps in the temple town after the backwaters from the river encircled their areas.
With no let up in heavy rains in Bhadrachalam Agency, the flash floods in swollen streams flooded the Bhadrachalam-Charla main road at R Kothagudem and Satyanarayanapuram disrupting vehicular movement and cutting off the road link to several interior villages.
According to reports, the TSRTC bus services on the Bhadrachalam-Venkatapuram route were affected following the waterlogging of various stretches of the main road at Gangolu and Turubaka villages.
Boats have been pressed into service at Sunnambatti and other riverside villages in Dummugudem mandal to move people from the flood prone areas to temporary relief camps.
Flood control rooms, including the one at the Bhadrachalam sub-Collector’s office (08743 232444), have already been operationalised.
The district police have launched a WhatsApp helpline number – 8712682128 to extend services to the needy and tackle any eventuality in view of the incessant rains and surge in water levels in the Godavari and its tributaries.
