17 tribal dwellings under water in Andhra’s Polavaram as Godavari nears first flood warning
Sabari in a sinkhole near Chintoor Bridge in Polavaram district, on the Andhra Pradesh-Chhattisgarh border. File | Photo credit: Special arrangement
The Godavari valley and delta are bracing for the first flood warning on the river at Dowleswaram. Upstream in Andhra Pradesh’s Polavaram district, at least 17 tribal dwellings are already under water and 171 villages have been warned, officials told The Hindu. Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage took 9.66 lakh cusecs at 7:00 am on Monday (September 28, 2026), a little less than the 10 lakh at which the warning was issued.
In the 24 hours to Thursday (September 24, 2026) morning, the barrage received about 83,000 cusecs, it says Andhra Pradesh Water Resources Information and Management System (APWRIMS).
🚨 Godavari Flood Update
The Godavari River at Bhadrachalam experiences a huge late monsoon discharge of 8,70,000 Cusecs.
The flood level is set to reach the first warning mark of 43 feet in the next few hours, but should level off and begin receding by this evening. pic.twitter.com/tEthZsnHZ7
— Naveen Reddy (@navin_ankampali) September 27, 2026
The Sabari and Sileru rivers bring more flood waters into the Godavari, leading to flooding in the Godavari valley and delta. Heavy rain in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, followed by a deep depression last week, is causing huge inflow into the river.
The September 27 Godavari APWRIMS forecast pegged the dam peak at around 10.1 lakh cusecs on Monday, easing to around 9.8 lakh on Tuesday and 8 lakh on Wednesday (September 30, 2026). Its officials were working at the gates of the Polavaram project to keep the flow at the barrage below the first warning level, the bulletin said. Upstream, the river was already receding at Kunavaram, Chintur and Polavaram on Monday afternoon, gauges showed.
High tide at Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage
Date (6:00 a.m.) Inflow (cusecs, 24-hour average) September 211,15,291 September 221,03,785 September 2,388,473 September 2,483,188 September 251,89,481 3,87,2 September 275,10,570 September 28, 7:00 a.m. 9,66,322 (Instant Read)First Warning10,00,000
Source: APWRIMS
The Godavari Flood Report-2026 says: “The trend of inflow into the Godavari river at Dowleswaram remains on the rise. At least 1,400 cusecs of water are being released into the irrigation canals in the Godavari delta.”
In the first phase of the Godavari flood, in August this year, at least 971 houses in 72 habitations were submerged, affecting more than 32,000 people, when the Sabari and Godavari flooded Polavaram district. Downstream of the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage, several thousand people were also affected in the Godavari Delta.
At the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage, the first flood warning is issued at an inflow of 10 lakh cusecs and the second at about 13 lakh. At 17,000 cusecs a third warning is issued. In 2022, the Godavari flood crossed the third warning level and caused an estimated ₹2,000 crore in road and crop losses.
In the last seven decades, the Godavari has experienced more than 36 floods exceeding the second warning level at all stations in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
In August 1986, the Godavari received an unprecedented flood of 35,06,388 cusecs, which left havoc between Bhadrachalam and the Papikonda range. In the same year, 35 million cusecs of flood water was released from Dowleswaram.
Relief operation
In Polavaram district, which lies between Sabari and Godavari, 171 villages have been alerted and relief measures are in place. “As many as 55 motor boats and eight big boats are ready for rescue operations in Kunavaram and VR Puram. Till Monday, at least 17 dwellings have been submerged in the ongoing floods,” said project manager Subham Nokwal of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency.
Integrated Tribal Development Agency project manager Subham Nokwal inspects the tributaries to the Sabari river at the bridge at Chintoor in Polavaram district. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
Upstream from the Polavaram Irrigation Project, Koya and Konda Reddi’s residences in Chintoor Agency face the threat of submergence from the stagnant waters of the project.
In the district Dr. BR Ambedkar Konaseema people living in the islands were warned and advised to vacate their dwellings or stay back and avoid crossing the Godavari in traditional boats.
Published – 28 Sep 2026 15:22 IST