As the swollen Godavari inched closer to the danger mark of 53 feet after crossing the first and second flood warning levels of 43 feet and 48 feet at Bhadrachalam on Saturday, a high alert has been sounded in the areas all along the river course in seven mandals of the district.
Swollen tributaries of the Godavari submerged various stretches of the roads in the Agency mandals snapping road links to several riverside villages in Bhadrachalam Agency.
Vehicular movement between the border mandal of Charla and Mulugu district’s Venkatapuram was disrupted as Palemvagu stream inundated a portion of the main road on Saturday afternoon, sources said.
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The TSRTC had to suspend its bus services between Charla and Venkatapuram mandals due to the traffic disruption caused by the overflowing stream.
Sources said that the movement of vehicular traffic has come to a halt on the Mulugu-Bhopalpatnam section of NH 163 after Pavuralavagu stream flooded a causeway on the vital road link along the inter-State border with Chhattisgarh.
Heavy inflows from the upstream areas rapidly swelled the water level in the Godavari at Bhadrachalam overnight. The swollen river crossed the 43 feet mark at 7.45 a.m. and the 48 feet mark at 5.40 p.m. at the temple town, prompting the authorities to issue the first and second flood alerts in less than 10 hours on Saturday.
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The water level in the Godavari further swelled to 48.50 feet, below five feet of the third warning level (danger mark) of 53 feet at 8 p.m. near the temple town.
Relief camps
The official machinery has been put on high alert to shift people living in the flood-prone areas to relief camps, provide food and medical services as per the flood contingency plan.
Collector D. Anudeep conducted a tele-conference with officials of seven Agency mandals from the sub-Collector’s office in Bhadrachalam on Saturday evening.
He reviewed the situation arising out of the surging water level in the Godavari and monitored the flood preparedness and emergency response services.
He said as many as 27 pregnant women were shifted from the riverside villages in Charla, Dummugudem, Bhadrachalam, Burgampadu, Aswapuram, Manuguru and Pinapaka mandals to nearby government hospitals and health centres as a precautionary measure in the wake of the flood threat.
He asked the health department officials to deploy the medical staff round-the-clock and keep adequate stocks of medicines available at relief camps.
The Collector urged people living in flood prone and riverside habitations to move to the relief camps with the help of the local officials as a safety precaution.
Control rooms
Two control rooms have been working round the clock to monitor the flood situation constantly and extend assistance to the needy. The control rooms can be contacted over phone numbers: 08744 241950 and 08743 232444.
Any information pertaining to the flood-related incidents, if any, can be shared on the WhatsApp helpline number 9392919743 for appropriate action to deal with emergency situations.