SRIKAKULAM: Heavy rain in the upper catchment areas and inflows from other sources intensified flooding in the Nagavali and Vamsadhara rivers in Srikakulam district on Friday, prompting the district administration to issue a second flood warning at the Narayanapuram Anicut.
District Collector Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar said inflows and outflows at the anicut touched 73,800 cusecs, with the water level reaching 29.50 metres.
Several rivers remained under close watch as water levels at monitoring stations crossed warning marks. According to the District Collectorate’s hourly river report issued on Friday evening, one station showed a rising trend, three were falling and seven remained steady.
At Kasinagar on the Vamsadhara, the water level stood at 54.79 metres and was falling slowly at 0.01 metre per hour. The station had crossed the warning level and was placed under critical status.
At the Narayanapuram Anicut, the inflow and outflow were recorded at 66,990 cusecs in the evening, with the flow falling by about 6,810 cusecs per hour. The first warning level had been crossed and the station was placed under critical alert.
The Gotta barrage on the Vamsadhara recorded an inflow and outflow of 45,679 cusecs. The flow remained steady, but the first warning level had been crossed.
At Gunpur on the Vamsadhara, the water level stood at 82.45 metres, just 0.55 metre below the warning mark. At Jagaguda in Rayagada district on the Nagavali, the level was 154.36 metres, while at Kutragad in Odisha on the Vamsadhara, it stood at 259.38 metres. All three locations were placed on alert.
The Nagavali at the Old Bridge in Srikakulam showed a rising trend, with the flow increasing by 9,200 cusecs per hour. Flows at Bahuda river at Ichapuram Old Bridge, Madduvalasa project, Mahendratnaya river at Pydigam Anicut and Thotapally project were falling or steady and remained below the first warning levels.
Collector Pundkar and District SP K V Maheswara Reddy inspected flood-hit areas in Burja mandal, including Allena, Lakkupuram, Kilantara, G B Puram and Labham. At Lakkupuram, knee-deep water was flowing across the road. Wearing life jackets, the officials continued the inspection in a police vehicle, while drones were used to monitor river levels.
He directed police, revenue and disaster management teams to work in coordination and urged people to stay away from rivers and streams and rely only on official updates.
