CWC issues season’s first flood alert in Vidarbha on Saturday

PUNE: The Central Water Commission (CWC) on Friday issued a flood alert for the first time in parts of Vidarbha this monsoon with the Wainganga at Bhandara flowing in the “above-normal flood situation” amid the possibility of the river nearing the danger level.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) also issued a red rain alert for Vidarbha on Saturday.The weather alerts led to the cancellation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Nagpur, where he was supposed to inaugurate a new segment of the Metro and some other projects, on Saturday.
The Krishna has again started flowing in the “above-normal flood situation” at Kurundwad site in Kolhapur district following heavy to very heavy rainfall in the 24 hours till Friday morning and the continuing downpour since then. The CWC said the river might rise further, going by the IMD’s red rain alert for the ghats of Madhya Maharashtra and also Konkan on September 7 (Saturday).
The “above-normal flood situation” refers to sites where the water level equals or exceeds the warning level but is less than the danger level. In the case of the Kurundwad site, the levels of the Krishna were at the warning level of 532.5m, barely 3m short of the danger level of 535.5m. In Vidarbha, the Wainganga at the Pauni site in Bhandara district may near the danger level by Saturday, the IMD forecast stated.
The full reservoir level of Gosikhurd dam, an earthfill reservoir on the Wainganga river near Pauni in Bhandara, is above 245m. The danger level of the Wainganga at the CWC’s Bhandara station (in the upstream of Ghose Khurd dam) is 244.5m. The dam has started creating ‘ponding’ at this site and the actual level of the Wainganga at this site is 244.38m, very close to the danger level.
A CWC official said, “If it rains around 200mm, such as on Friday night, at some places in Madhya Maharashtra like Mahabaleshwar, Satara and Radhanagari, there could be a major flooding situation.”
Amid forecast of heavy to very heavy rain and extremely heavy rain forecast for isolated parts of the three sub-divisions (Konkan, Madhya Maharashtra and Vidarbha) in Maharashtra on Saturday, the CWC issued a flood alert in Pune, Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Satara and Kolhapur locations along the course of the west flowing rivers Krishna, Bhima and their tributaries. Similar alert has also been issued in Bhandara, Gondia, Gadchiroli and Wardha locations along the river courses of Wardha, Wainganga and their tributaries.
Anupam Kashyapi, head of weather, IMD, Pune, told TOI that heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy showers at isolated places were very likely over Konkan and Goa on Saturday. “Heavy to very heavy rainfall, with extremely heavy spells, are likely at isolated places over Vidarbha and the ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra on Saturday,” he said.
“The monsoon low from the Bay of Bengal is moving at a very slow pace and continues to persist over north coastal Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal. It is tilting southwestward. This is ensuring that its effect remains pronounced over the areas of its influence, including the eastern parts of Maharashtra,” Kashyapi said.
“The other factors that caused us to extend the intense rain spell over Maharashtra till Saturday are the increasing depth of the monsoon trough, which is passing via Guna, Jabalpur, of Madhya Pradesh, tilting southwards, offshore trough extending from south Gujarat coast to north Kerala coast, persisting strength of the east west sheer zone at around 21°N, strong westerly winds coming from the Arabian Sea and the moderately packed isobars over the Arabian Sea off Maharashtra coast,” he said.
All these factors were bringing huge moisture,which in association with the orography of the Sahyadri range, was creating a huge wind convergence, Kashyapi said.