Flood havoc continues in Andhra districts; several villages marooned

Amaravati, Aug 17 (PTI): The Godavari river is swelling by the hour, inundating more villages along the course, as it inched towards a record flood level on Monday.

As the water level crossed 60 feet at Bhadrachalam in neighbouring Telanagna, the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowaleswaram near Rajamahendravaram received 18.27 lakh cusecs by noon on Monday.

Authorities are discharging all the flood water into the Bay of Bengal as the third warning signal is due to be raised.

The second warning is now continuing at Dowaleswaram, the State Disaster Management Authority said.

Over 55 villages in West Godavari district and about 100 in East Godavari district remain marooned or inundated due to the deluge.

In East Godavari, close to 6,000 people were evacuated to safety from the flood-hit villages and lodged in relief camps.

In West Godavari, too, about 2,000 people were shifted to relief camps.

The tributaries of Godavari like Goutami, Vasishta and Vynateya are also in spate.

Power supply to the affected villages has been cut as a precautionary measure.

Teams of SDRF and NDRF have been moved to the flood- hit villages with boats and other equipment to carry out rescue and relief operations, the SDMA said.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy reviewed the situation with the officials concerned and directed them to undertake relief measures on a war footing.PTI DBV SS PTI PTI