Vijayawada, Oct. 4: The raging Krishna hasn’t spared anyone here, not even the Buddha.

The ancient Buddhist township of Amravati, along the banks of the river and 70km from here, has been cut off by the swirling waters.

In Vijayawada town itself, many are hoping Buddha will answer their prayers for help. Power has been switched off in almost half the city and 10 lakh of its 20 lakh residents living in low-lying areas shifted, many forcibly, to safer places.

Milk vendor Padmamma is among those refusing to leave her home in Bhavanipur, one of the many illegal clusters dotting Vijayawada. “I am scared the civic authorities will demolish it (my home) after the floods and I won’t be able to stay here,” the 32-year-old says.

District officials are bracing for the worst. Their attention is focused on the Prakasam barrage, not far from the town, on the Krishna.

Water is flowing into the barrage at a rate of 8.5 lakh cusecs per hour, a level it can’t sustain unless some of the water is released. Vijayawada dreads the prospect.

Today, many have no electricity; tomorrow, there could be no drinking water. “We anticipate inundation of the filters supplying drinking water to the city and hence have kept nearly 200 lorries ready for supply of water,” one official said.

In all, 63 people have died across Andhra in the rain-sparked floodssince Friday. Around 110 are said to be missing. Officials said over 1.5 million people were being put up in relief camps in Krishna, Guntur, Kurnool and Mahboobnagar and Nalgonda, the worst-affected districts.

Chief minister K. Rosaiah said Sonia Gandhi would fly over the flood zones tomorrow and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.

The national highway from Vijayawada to Bangalore has been shut down after several stretches went under water. Eighteen trains, many passing through Vijayawada, a key rail junction, have been cancelled, and 29 diverted, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

In Karnataka, the toll rose by 12 in the past 24 hours to 168. Chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa asked the Centre to declare the floods in his state a national disaster and sought Rs 10,000 crore for relief in 15 rain-ravaged districts.