Dramatic time-lapse footage of floodwaters taking over a street in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada were shared Tuesday, underlining the scale of the emergency facing authorities after heavy rain in coastal districts killed nearly 50 people, a majority in the city, and affected over 10 lakh.
CCTV footage from Vijayawada’s Ajit Singh Nagar – submerged after a breach in the Budameru canal – showed ankle-level flooding in the narrow street at 9 am.
There was no indication of the rapid rise in water level that was to come.
Within three hours the road was under four feet of murky grey floodwaters with plastic bags and other waste material flowing along the street. As the water level rose, some concerned residents waded through the flood to hop on to two-wheelers and drive away.
Ten seconds into the clip the water had swelled from ankle-level to knee-level.
Twenty seconds into the clip three parked two-wheelers were half underwater.
But the worst and the scariest part was still to come.
From the 30-second mark to the 45th second the water level rose significantly, reaching well above the waist of five men wading, almost swimming, their way through the street, surrounded by muddy brown water teeming with plastic and other garbage.
By this time the street had become impossible to navigate (except perhaps on boats) but the water level was still rising, reaching to and over some compound walls standing four feet high.
Traffic came to a halt on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway after floodwaters inundated the road.
The story was much the same in other parts of the city, with officials saying over 30,000 houses had been completely flooded and fire engines – over 100 of them – had to be deployed to clean algae and other waste material from the walls and inside compounds.
Water Department officials also had to figure out how to un-entangle three boats that had collided with the Prakasam barrage stretching across the Krisha River; eventually two heavy cranes, each capable of lifting 50 tonnes, had to be summoned to remove the vessels.
The boats had smashed into one another after all 70 gates of the barrage had to be opened to release floodwaters downstream. The location of the fourth is still unknown, such as the fury with which the water dashed into the boats.
In an unexpected twist, police have arrested two persons, including the owner of three boats, on suspicion of sabotage; the cops claim the boats, allegedly belonging to supporters of the opposition YSR Congress Party, were left to damage the barrage when the gates were opened.
Meanwhile, in some good news for flood-battered Vijayawada, water levels have almost receded from most parts and the city is expected to return to normalcy by tonight.
Municipal Administration Minister P Narayana said 26 of the city’s 32 wards had been cleared, but noted there were still challenges, such as removing floodwaters from Payakapuram, which had been underwater for nine days. Municipal workers have been busy removing sand, mud, and other debris from roads and residential areas, and sprinkling bleaching powder.
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Electricity has also been mostly restored, with 95 per cent of the city’s supply back online.
As part of the relief measures – for which the Andhra Pradesh government has sought Rs 6,880 crore from the centre – packets of food, milk, and biscuits, are being distributed.
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Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party is an ally of the BJP in power at the centre, camped out in the city last week to direct rescue operations. He took the chance for a swipe at his rival, declaring the floods were due to his predecessor’ neglect of water canals.
Till Monday Vijayawada had to struggle with widespread floods for a ninth consecutive day.
With input from agencies
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