With four more deaths reported, the toll in rain-related incidents in Andhra Pradesh rose to nine, while the KL Rao Sagar reservoir is almost filled to the brim with water due to copious showers in Guntur district and the upper catchment areas of the Krishna river.
The Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada on Krishna river is also overflowing as close to two lakh cusecs of flood water is flowing into it.
While KL Rao Sagar reservoir’s full level is 45.77 tmc ft, it is now holding 30 tmc ft of water. At this time last year, it stored only 5.70 tmc ft of water. As much as 1.51 lakh cusecs of flood water is being discharged from K L Rao Sagar reservoir which is reaching Prakasam Barrage.
With additional flood water flowing in from rivulets like Musi, the inflow into Prakasam Barrage is 1.90 lakh cusecs.
Consequently, all the 70 crest gates of the barrage have been lifted to let out 1.42 lakh cusecs into the sea.
This is the first time in over five years that the Barrage has witnessed such massive inflow and outflow.
Incessant rains that lashed mainly the Palnadu region of Guntur district in the last three days gave a little breather on Friday but not before causing enormous damage to infrastructure and crops.
While six persons died in Guntur district, three were killed in Visakhapatnam district as rains spread to north coastal Andhra Pradesh under the influence of a depression in Bay of Bengal that turned into a deep depression by this evening.
The state government has announced an ex gratia of Rs four lakh to the kin of each of those killed in rain-related incidents.
Train services between Guntur and Secunderabad remained suspended for the second consecutive day as over two-km rail tracks near Sattenapalli washed away due to overflowing of rivulets in the region.
Railway staff, with the support of local people, have undertaken repair works of the tracks on a war footing.
Major Express trains on the Guntur-Secunderabad route have been diverted via Kazipet, Vijayawada, Dhone and Nandyal while some passenger trains have been cancelled. Road transport in Palnadu was also disrupted.
Here is what Twitter has been saying about the Andhra rains:
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