Andhra floods turn Vijayawada into a lake: What's behind the heaviest rain in decades

Floods in Amaravati

Unprecedented rainfall in the past two days in Andhra Pradesh has paralysed life at several places, especially in Vijayawada and vicinity. Andhra Pradesh's capital region has been hit by the heaviest rainfall in 50 years, turning the area into a vast, waterlogged landscape and leading to loss of life.

AP capital region is spread across the districts of NTR, Krishna, Guntur, Palnadu, Bapatla and Eluru. It includes the major cities of Vijayawada and Guntur.  What's behind the unprecedented rain and massive flooding in Andhra?

The torrential rains began on Saturday, fueled by a low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal. By Sunday, the situation had intensified, with Vijayawada caught between the surging Krishna river on one side and the overflowing Budameru rivulet on the other.

At 29cm in one day, it was the highest single-day rain in 30 years till Sunday evening, but as more rain fell and the graph touched 37cm,  it caused the Budameru river in Vijayawada to overflow, submerging nearly 40% of the city.

The condition became more severe with the heavy flood discharge from upstream Telangana, where all rivulets and streams flow into the Krishna river. This has led to the Krishna river being in full spate, with about 10 lakh cusecs of water being discharged from the Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada into the Bay of Bengal.

The Budameru rivulet, which originates in Khammam district, saw a significant rise in floodwaters. While the situation was somewhat manageable until 10 am on Sunday, the embankment near Rajarajeswaripet breached, causing severe flooding in low-lying areas.

The current flood is being compared to the devastating floods of 2005 when the Budameru river overflowed and inundated large parts of Vijayawada. According to media reports, irrigation officials have shown fear that the present flood could be twice as severe as the 2005 disaster.