HEAVY rains in the catchment area caused the Krishna river and the Budameru rivulet to flood into Vijayawada city on the midnight of August 31. Heavy rainfall of about 30 cm locally, along with breaches to the banks of Budameru, led to the inundation of many low-lying areas such as Ajit Singh Nagar, Bhavanipuram, and others in Vijayawada city. Landslides occurred, resulting in the loss of four lives. The government did not warn the people about the flood situation; if they had, most people would have fled to nearby safe places, and many more could have protected their valuables.

In addition to this, the Krishna river experienced a record flow of 11.43 lakh cusecs/second, causing further inundation in areas on the left side of Vijayawada and in Sundarayya Nagar and other areas of Guntur district on the right side of the Krishna river. Crops in thousands of acres were damaged on both sides of the river. Hundreds of villages lost connectivity with other areas. Heavy rains caused damage in the hill areas of the Alluri Seetharama Raju district, resulting in landslides and damage to houses. The Godavari and Sabari rivers also flooded, badly affecting the submergence areas of the Polavaram project.

The flood and rain situation continued until September 11, causing massive damage to the state and resulting in the loss of 45 lives, according to government records. Party and mass organisation leaders visited the affected areas in Krishna, NTR, Guntur, Bapatla, Alluri Seetharama Raju, and BR Ambedkar Konaseema districts.

In this grim situation, the leaders and cadres of the CPI(M) and mass organisations reached out to the people with a helping hand. They provided packed water, milk, food, and medicines to the flood victims. The cadres waded through streets with 4 to 5 feet of floodwater to supply daily necessities to the victims, reaching many nooks and corners where the government machinery did not. SFI-DYFI and other mass organisation cadres also participated in sanitation work. Meanwhile, Makineni Basavapunnaiah Vignana Kendram (MBVK) opened food centres within the flood-hit areas, serving hot meals to thousands of starving flood victims. People received their food from these centres in Vijayawada city, Tadepalli, and other areas. Even the APSDRF staff were fed at these centres.

MBVK Trust, which had previously organised isolation centres and instilled confidence among people during the COVID-19 pandemic, saw some philanthropic organisations and individuals donate generously. On September 10, more than 15,000 people were fed at centres in Vijayawada, Ibrahimpatnam, Yenamala Kuduru, Sundarayya Nagar, and other locations. The organisers announced that they would continue to feed the victims for some more days.

A delegation of CPI(M) members, including Y Venkateswara Rao, Ch Baburao, V Uma Maheswara Rao, D Ramadevi, and K Prabhakara Reddy (all state secretariat members), met chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu on September 10 and submitted a memorandum. They demanded that the state government should pressurise the central government to declare the floods and heavy rain damage as a national calamity and called for the immediate release of Rs 10,000 crore in assistance to the state. They appealed the chief minister to exert pressure on the central government, where the TDP is a key supporter. CPI(M) leaders also demanded Rs 25 lakhs for the kin of each deceased person. They requested the chief minister to release Rs 25,000 to each affected family as immediate relief and to fully reimburse the damage after the assessment is completed. They outlined all the issues to the chief minister and urged him to act generously. The chief minister assured them that the government would take all necessary steps to ensure that every victim receives assistance.