Godavari crosses first danger level in Andhra, flood to 5 districts

For the second month in a row, river Godavari is in spate again and crossed the first danger level at Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowaleswaram near Rajamahendravaram in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday.

Alluri Sitarama Raju district, which is yet to fully recover from last month's deluge, is once again in the grip of a massive flood threat as discharge in the river crossed 10 lakh cusecs (cubic foot of water flow per second) mark. State Disaster Management Authority Managing Director B R Ambedkar said in a release that the current inflow in Godavari stood at 10.37 lakh cusecs.

"We have issued the first warning signal at Dowaleswaram. We have accordingly alerted the officials of the districts along the river course to take required precautionary measures," Ambedkar said.

One team each of NDRF and SDRF have been stationed on Alluri Sitarama Raju district for rescue operations, he said. Flood flow at upstream Bhadrachalam in Telangana crossed 12.58 lakh cusecs due to heavy rains in the catchment area.

Tributaries of Godavari like Sabari have also been receiving heavy inflow due to the rains.

PTI DBV.