Hyderabad: Fresh floods marooned several villages in the West and east Godavari, Krishna, Karimnagar and Khammam districts Sunday even as relief and rehabilitation measures continued on a war footing in the rain-battered areas of Andhra Pradesh.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu told reporters that the situation was alarming. Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters and boats were rushed to Brahmanapalli village in Karimnagar District where about 600 people were marooned. Several villages in Manthani and Mahadevapur Blocks in the same district were also inundated by floodwaters.

He said several villages adjoining Kolleru Lake in West Godavari and Krishna have been cut off from the rest of the state and another IAF chopper was sent to rescue 20 people stranded on a hillock at Lakshmipur in Warangal district.

He said heavy rains had lashed Karimnagar and Warangal districts saturday with the former recording a rainfall of 23 cm.

Meanwhile, water level in the Godavari River was rising rapidly and likely to reach the danger mark of 43 ft by Sunday evening at Bhadrachalam in Khammam district. It had already touched 40 ft.

Naidu said a fresh breach had developed in the 115-year-old Fox Sagar Lake where irrigation experts and the army were engaged in plugging the breach.

Replying to questions, he said preliminary estimates of damage of Rs 7.76 billion pertained to only government departments in which loss to private property was not included.

Earlier, the chief minister went around some of the flood-hit areas and consoled the displaced, who at places complained of the relief having not reached them yet.

Addressing the people at Sreemanagar, one of the worst hit slum localities in the city, Naidu assured them of all help and sought their cooperation in removing encroachments along the Hussainsagar drain, which had led to the inundation of residential areas.

UNI

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