Though floods are showing signs of abatement, a fresh warning from the met department that heavy rains are likely in the next 48 hours has put the administration back on a high state of alert.
The toll due to rains rose to 18 from over a overnight figure of 12 with the death of six persons being buried alive in a wall collapse in Moulali in Secunderabad.
Life has been paralysed in North Telangana, Khammam, East and West Godavari districts with streams and rivulets being in spate. During the last few days, Godavari which was in spate had inundated several villages along its banks in Khammam and East Godavari districts, rendering a number of people homeless and destroying their houses.
Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy at a high-level review meeting directed the chief secretary PK Mohanty to constantly monitor the situation with the district collectors and continue relief operations in all the flood-hit areas.
He asked them to keep a constant watch on the water levels in various reservoirs and take up repairs of breached minor tanks and roads wherever necessary. Three teams of NDRF left for Adilabad in view of the heavy rain lashing the district.
The water level in Godavari near Bhadrachalam stood at 47.3 feet. As the flood water receded, the officials have withdrawn the second warning signal. The water level at Dowleswaram has lowered to 16 feet.
As per preliminary reports, 3,153 hectares of horticulture crops, 23,625 hectares of cotton, 18,584 hectares of soyabean, 10,353 hectares of maize, 4,606 hectares of paddy and 3,428 hectares of pulses were affected due to the floods.
The floods have damaged 1,230 houses, 284 minor irrigation tanks breached, 3,877 km of roads.
APTransco reported that power was switched off as a precautionary measure in 269 villages in Adilabad, Karimnagar and Khammam and 132 villages in East and West Godavari districts.
As many as 10,782 persons were shifted to 70 relief camps.
POLLS POSTPONED: Panchayat elections have been postponed in 117 villages in Adilabad, 111 panchayats in Khammam, seven panchayats in East Godavari, five panchayats in Karimnagar and four panchayats in Warangal district due to heavy rains