Flood alert raised in Andhra Pradesh as river Godavari crosses 50-ft mark in Bhadrachalam; runs two feet less than third warning of 53-ft

Barely a month after the residents of villages in Andhra Pradesh’s Godavari district witnessed heavy floods that displaced over thousands of people, river Godavari is in spate once again. Godavari crossed the 50-feet mark for the first time this season at Bhadrachalam at 8 pm on Sunday. It is currently running two feet less than the third warning of 53-feet. [caption id=“attachment_7309301” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Godavari river inches near third level danger mark. Reuters.[/caption] According to News18, the river witnessed a sudden surge of water, raising its level from 43-feet around 12:30 am and crossing the second warning mark of 48 feet at noon on Sunday. About 12.10 lakh cusecs of water was flowing at Bhadrachalam by 8 pm. Heavy flow of water was witnessed at Kaleswaram and Medigadda. Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management (APSDMA) on Sunday issued a first-level flood warning with rising water levels in Dowaleswaram, Polavaram, and Kunavaram reservoirs in the Godavari Basin. As the water level continued to rise in the reservoirs, a second level was issued in the wake of rising water level in Badhrachalam dam in Telangana. According to Hindu, APSDMA officials claimed to have deployed over 240 rescue personnel of State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force and AP Fire Services teams in Veeravaram, Chinturu, Rampachodavaram and other areas. Boats, life jackets and other rescue equipment were also sent. Meanwhile, the water level at the Srisailam dam on the Krishna river gradually increased by Sunday evening reaching 882 feet against the full reservoir level of 885 feet. It’s believed that if the inflows continue, the dam will be filled for a second time this season.