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Telangana logs recordrainfall; Hyderabad flooded
A record rainfall of 464 mm was witnessed in a span of six hours at Vailpur in Nizamabad district of Telangana, even as the Indian Meteorological Department in Hyderabad issued a red alert warning of extremely heavy rainfall in several districts for the next three days
Hyderabad : A record rainfall of 464 mm was received in a span of six hours at Vailpur in Nizamabad district of Telangana, even as the India Meteorological Department in Hyderabad issued a red alert warning of extremely heavy rainfall in several districts for the next three days.
State roads and buildings minister Vemula Prashant Reddy who, along with district collector Rajiv Gandhi Hanumanthu toured the rain-ravaged areas of Vailpur, told reporters that such a heavy rainfall was unprecedented in the history of Telangana.
He said the IMD had identified five red zones in the entire state for extremely heavy rainfall, five of them in Nizamabad district alone – Perkit, Vailpur, Bhimgal, Konasamandar and Jakranpalli.
While Perkit received 332.3 mm rainfall overnight, Bheemgal recorded a rainfall of 264.8 mm, Konasamandar received 227 mm and Jakranpalli 222.3 mm rainfall.
“Fortunately, there was no loss of human lives, but the extremely heavy rain in a short span of time resulted in destruction of crops, damages to roads and houses,” the minister said.
He instructed the district authorities to shift the people in low-lying areas to relief centres and arrange food and water for them. Similarly, those who were living in dilapidated buildings would be moved to safer places, he said.
Elsewhere in the state, Kapula Kanaparthy in Warangal received 294.3 mm, Kunur in Jangaon district recorded 242.5 mm and Sangem in Warangal 238 mm rainfall from Monday evening to Tuesday morning.
IMD Hyderabad director Nagarathna said several districts like Mahabubabad, Warangal, Hanumakonda, Khammam, Nalgonda, Suryapet, Rangareddy, Vikarabad, Sangareddy, Medak and Kamareddy would receive heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next three days. “We have sounded an orange alert for these districts,” she said.
Similarly, districts like Mulugu, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Khammam, Nalgonda, Suryapet, Jangaon, Siddipet, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Warangal, Hanumakonda, Kamareddy, Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Mancherial, Nirmal, Nalgonda, Hyderabad, Medchal Malkajgiri and Mahabubnagar would also receive heavy rainfall. “The situation will continue till Friday or may be beyond,” she said.
She said the heavy to very heavy rains were due to an upper air cyclonic circulation over West Central Bay and its adjoining areas. “This upper air circulation is likely to intensify wind towards low-pressure areas during the next 24 hours. This extends up to 7.6 km above mean sea level,” she said.
The Monday’s night heavy rainfall ranging up from 35 mm to 70 mm in different parts of Hyderabad resulted in inundation of several low-lying areas in Hyderabad, bringing normal life to a halt.
Rain water entered residential areas in Saidabad and Singareni Officers colony, causing severe hardships to residents. A similar situation prevailed in Kodandaram Nagar and a few colonies in Saroornagar area. Some colonies in Gajularamaram and Malkampet were also inundated. People were shifted to safe places from low-lying inundated area.
There were traffic snarls at several places, especially in the Information technology corridors of Madhapur, Gachibowli, Raidurgam and surrounding areas for hours. The area had seen a gridlock after heavy rains last night. Similar situation was witnessed in Financial District, Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills, Bengumpet, Mehdipatnam, Punjagutta, Koti, Abids and other areas.
One person died when asbestos sheets fell on him at Abids, when he was taking shelter near a wall. The deceased was identified as Fareed, a daily wager.
Personnel from Disaster Response Force (DRF) teams of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and the police worked all through the night to clear the fallen trees and water stagnation points.
