The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has rescued 70 people stranded in the Moranchapally village which was submerged in the swirling waters overflowing from an adjoining tank.
Of these, five were airlifted by the defence helicopters while others were evacuated using boats, Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumari said. She asked the lorry drivers and other workers stranded on the Jayashankar Bhupalpally National Highway to shift to safer places and advised them not to take any risks. The State Government, in the meantime, was making arrangements for dropping food packets for the people stranded in the flood-affected areas through helicopters.
The Chief Secretary asked the people to be cautious in view of the incessant rains lashing the State. She asked them not to venture into areas where the water flow is intense as they could face trouble. The advise comes in the light of reports that people who were visiting areas where there was significant water flow were getting stranded in the overflowing water. “People should not risk their lives under estimating the intensity of the flood,” she said.
“Instead, people, especially youth, should focus on taking up rescue-and-relief works in the interests of the people affected by the floods,” she added.
Moranchapalli village marooned
Flash floods in a local stream triggered by incessant downpour marooned Moranchapalli village in the rain-battered Telangana’s Jayashankar Bhupalpally district. The villagers were forced to go to the roof-tops of their houses and trees since morning.
Videos of the panic-stricken villagers making fervent appeals to the authorities to save them surfaced on social media this morning.
Following the distress calls, the official machinery swung into action and dispatched NDRF teams along with inflatable rubber boats and other equipment to rescue them. Earlier, Collector Bavesh Mishra was camping near the village to oversee the rescue operation.
Jayashankar Bhupalpalli district witnessed very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall with the Chityal mandal recording the highest 616.5 mm rainfall in the district in the last 24 hours, ending at 8 a.m. this morning.
The swollen Godavari river inched closer to the third flood warning (Danger mark) of 53 feet at Bhadrachalam in Bhadradri Kothagudem district. The water level in the river hovered above 50 feet at the temple town.
The surging water level in the Godavari aided by the high-volume of inflows from the catchment areas kept residents of the low-lying areas of the temple town on the edge.
High-capacity motor pumps have been deployed to drain out the stagnant water at Vista complex and the areas surrounding the historic Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy shrine. Several dozens of families of the low-lying areas have already been sheltered in the relief camps in Bhadrachalam.
The road link to dozens of villages in Dummugudem and Charla mandals remained snapped due to the overflowing streams on several stretches of the main roads in Bhadrachalam Agency.
Vehicular movement between Bhadrachalam and Venkatapuram remained paralysed throwing normal life out of gear in the entire Bhadrachalam Agency.
Heavy overnight rain resulted in severe waterlogging on many streets and compounding the woes of people living in the low-lying areas of the tri-cities of Warangal, Hanamkonda and Kazipet.
