The heaviest flood in over a hundred years hit the Prakasam barrage on Krishna river threatening several villages downstream even as
people of Vijayawada city clung on to a faint hope on Monday.
The toll in the heavy rains and rampaging floods in the state rose to 52. The Krishna was all furious as a record 11.03 lakh cusecs of floodwater reached Prakasam barrage. However, there was no threat to human lives as 2.5 lakh people of Krishna and Guntur districts have already been shifted to relief camps.
The situation in lanka villages — island villages where the Krishna meets the Bay of Bengal — however was grim as more than 50,000 people were trapped in floodwaters. Many colonies along the left bank of the Krishna in Vijayawada city submerged as the water level touched 6 feet in the evening. "The situation will remain grim till Wednesday as the flood discharge at Prakasam barrage will continue to be around 11 lakh cusecs," an official said.
With nearly 11 lakh cusecs of water in the swollen Krishna cascading from the Prakasam barrage, there was a concern on the ability of the flood banks to withstand the fierce pounding by the swirling river. However, engineers have assured the public that the flood banks were designed to take 11 lakh cusecs of water and that they have strengthened the weak points in the flood banks. This is the heaviest flood in more than 106 years as the previous record was 10.30 lakh cusecs in 1903, irrigation authorities said.
The water level touched 21.9 feet as all the 72 sluice gates were lifted to let out the execess waters. The discharge from Nagarjunasagar is expected to remain constant (10.17 lakh cusecs) at least for the next 24 hours and the outflow from Prakasam barrage will be around 10.87 lakh cusecs. With the floods receding in Kurnool and Mahbubnagar, water management at Srisailam, Nagarjunasagar and Prakasam barrage are being done in tandem to minimise the losses downstream, irrigation officials said.
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