MULUGU: Continued rainfall in the Godavari's upper catchments in Telangana and Maharashtra has led to a steady rise in the river level at the Ramannagudem Pushkar ghats in Eturunagaram mandal, prompting authorities to issue the first flood warning on Friday.
Officials said the river touched 14.82 metres on Friday morning. A second warning will be issued if the water level rises to 15.82 metres.
Heavy rainfall over the past two days has swollen the Godavari, while agency mandals of Eturunagaram and Mangapet have witnessed widespread inundation. Several villages have been cut off as streams and causeways overflowed following the incessant rain.
Traffic between Telangana and Chhattisgarh was disrupted on Friday morning after an overflowing stream submerged a stretch of National Highway 163 in Wazeedu mandal. Police erected barricades and prevented motorists from crossing the inundated section to avoid accidents.
At the Sammakka Sagar Barrage at Tuppakulagudem in Mulugu district, the Godavari was receiving an inflow of 11,86,500 cusecs, while the outflow stood at 11,84,194 cusecs on Friday. The barrage has a storage capacity of 6.94 TMC.
The Irrigation department continued to lift 2,306 cusecs of water from the Godavari by operating nine pumps of the J. Chokka Rao Devadula Project intake at Tuppakulagudem.
Mulugu District Collector Bhorkhade Hemant Sahadeorao, Superintendent of Police Sudhir Ramnath Kekan and other officials were closely monitoring the flood situation and overseeing preparedness measures to meet any emergency.