Kurnool, Belgaum:
One lakh people have been evacuated from the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh and are being sent to rescue camps. On Friday night, the River Krishna's levels are expected to hit a 100-year high.
The floods in areas along the Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka are so serious that the army, air force, and navy are all involved in rescue operations. Most-affected are the Kurnool district in Western Andhra Pradesh, and Bijapur, Belgaum, Bellary in Northern Karnataka.
Karnataka:- 74 dead, 26,000 houses destroyed
- Heavy rain floods Bijapur, Bagalkot, Belgaum, Bellary
Andhra Pradesh:- 30 dead, 1 lakh evacuated
- Excess water from Karnataka dam floods Mahbubnagar, Kurnool, Krishna
"The situation is very serious. So far 74 people have died and 26,000 houses have collapsed. The state government is in touch with the Home Ministry and Defence Ministry, and is organizing relief and rescue operations. Four helicopers of Air Force have already been put into operation and within four-five hours, another six more helicopters from the Air Force will be arranged," says B S Yeddyurappa, the Chief Minister of Karnataka.
The state will ask the Centre for help but has already released Rs 300 crore and set up 98 food distribution centres.
The floods have been caused because of heavy rainfall in Karnataka earlier this week. Andhra Pradesh officials claim that Karnataka released water from its dams, causing the Krishna river to swell. Now Andhra is worried about how much pressure the Nagarjunasagar dam and the Prakasam barrage further down in Vijayawada can take.
In Andhra, parts of the old city area in Kurnool town are under five feet of water. But it's the famous temple town of Mantralayam in this area that's the worst hit. The Raghavendraswamy temple here is completely under water. Thirty people have died across the state.
Officials confirm that there's no threat to the hydroelectric power plant at Srisailam.
Flood like situation in south Goa
Floods fury also seems to be moving to Goa-Karnataka border where five villages have been affected due to rain water.
Four hundred people have been evacuated as water is rising in the area. Administration is making arrangements to evacuate more people from the flood-affected areas.
Goa police has sought Army, Navy and Coast Guard's help in south Goa at Canacona area due to heavy raining.