Flood waters have largely receded from several affected places in Vijayawada but fresh rainfall and the third breach in Budameru rivulet resulted in flooding again in parts of the city.
Mohammed Ilyas (50), one of the victims of the unprecedented deluge in Vijayawada and a resident of Ajit Singh Nagar mini stadium area, said several families which returned to salvage their belongings thinking that the water had receded were compelled to beat a hasty retreat.
"Yesterday (Thursday), floodwaters receded but it rained last night as a result of which and also water gushing in from the Budameru breach (which is yet to be closed) is resulting in inundation again," Ilyas told PTI.
Local people had hoped that all the floodwater would be cleared by Friday but the opposite occurred.
On Friday, he said the flood water level rose up to four feet and some local residents who came back had to return to safety as they feared water would enter their homes, he said.
According to the Ajit Singh Nagar resident, whose home was flooded up to the ceiling fan level at the peak of the deluge, causing a loss of at least Rs 5 lakh, the floods would not stop until the third Budameru breach is closed.
Budameru, a local rivulet which passes through Vijayawada city wreaked havoc, inundating swathes of the city and destroying everything in its path.
Meanwhile, a group of flood victims protested at Ajit Singh Nagar Pipula Road area on Friday, complaining that residents from 10 streets near Ampapuram village did not receive flood relief.
They called for a permanent solution to the issue of flooding and lamented that they have no protection even after building houses worth lakhs of rupees by taking loans.
Claiming that they have been going through tough times over the past six days, the protesters alleged that neither public representatives nor officials visited them.
Uncertain over how long the ordeal will go on, the protesters complained that they were not receiving drinking water or food and no transport facility such as boats were available to venture out for supplies.
Left party leader Ch Babu Rao met the protesters and expressed solidarity with them.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department noted that the cyclonic circulation associated with the existing low pressure over Bay of Bengal sea is likely to move northwards slowly and intensify into a depression over northwest Bay of Bengal, and adjoining areas of the Gangetic West Bengal, north Odisha and Bangladesh coasts around September 9.
Meanwhile, the official death toll due to the floods rose to 33 by 6 pm on Friday while Sundara Ramayya, a flood victim, who left Vijayawada for Warangal told PTI that the number of dead could be higher.
Also, 46,320 flood-hit people have been accommodated in 226 relief camps while 50 National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force teams continue with their relief and rehabilitation work, said an official press release.
The APSRTC has arranged 227 buses to ferry passengers from surrounding railway stations to Vijayawada, among other relief operations.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu undertook an aerial survey of the flooded regions around Budameru on Friday.
