People carry their belongings as they wade through a flooded street after heavy monsoon rains, in Vijayawada on September 2, 2024. Intense monsoon rains and floods in India's southern states have killed at least 25 people, with thousands rescued and taken to relief camps, disaster officials said on September 2. (AFP Photo)
In the last two days, Andhra Pradesh has halted life in various places, especially in Vijayawada and its nearby places, where 17,000 individuals affected by the rain were evacuated throughout the state.
As per a news report by Times of India, "The region recorded the heaviest rain in 50 years, prompting govt to launch large-scale relief and rescue operations." The severe rainfall has turned into a vast, waterlogged landscape and led to loss of life.
A low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal was the main cause of the severe rains that started on Saturday. On Sunday Vijayawada was trapped between the overflowing Budameru rivulet and the roaring Krishna river when the situation worsened.
Until Sunday night, the amount of rain in a single day had not exceeded in 30 years at 29 cm. However, as more rain poured and the graph reached 37 cm, the Budameru River in Vijayawada overflowed, engulfing about 40% of the city.
Since all rivulets and streams in Telangana run into the Krishna River, the situation grew more dire due to the heavy flood discharge from the upstream region. As a result, the Krishna River is currently at its peak, spewing 10 lakh cubic feet of water into the Bay of Bengal from the Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada.
Floodwater levels in the Khammam district's Budameru rivulet significantly increased. Although the situation remained somewhat under control till Sunday at 10 am, there was significant flooding in low-lying regions due to a breach in the embankment near Rajarajeswaripet.
The catastrophic floods in 2005, when the Budameru River burst and submerged a major portion of Vijayawada, are being compared to the present disaster. Irrigation officials reportedly expressed fear that the current flood may be twice as severe as the 2005 catastrophe, according to media reports.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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