Hyderabad: Heavy rain triggers traffic jams, roads cave in, localities flooded

Heavy rains lashed Hyderabad, turning several residential localities into virtual cess pools and bringing normal life to a grinding halt.

Heavy rains lashed Hyderabad, turning several residential localities into virtual cess pools and bringing normal life to a grinding halt.

Bystanders watch rain water flood a street following heavy rain in Nijampet, a low lying area on the outskirts of Hyderabad on September 21, 2016. (AFP Photo)

The downpour which started at around 10pm on Tuesday night continued till early on Wednesday. But after a few hours of respite, it resumed in the afternoon. Qutbullapur on the city outskirts received the maximum rainfall of 16.4 cm, while several other areas recorded rainfall ranging from 3 to 12 cm in five to six hours.

Hussainsagar Lake in the heart of the city reached its full reservoir level of 514.3 ft, with inflows crossing 4,000 cusecs, forcing authorities to lift all sluice gates. This resulted in several colonies downstream being flooded.

People wait outside an emergency block of a private hospital surrounded by floodwatwers, following heavy rain in Suraram, a low lying area on the outskirts of Hyderabad on September 21, 2016. The Meteorology Department has forecast rains for the next 24 hours.

The heavy rains also caused overflowing of storm water drains, wreaking havoc in densely-populated localities such as Kukatpally, Miyapur, Nizampet, Begumpet and Alwal. Several tanks on the city outskirts were breached and water entered into residential dwellings. In prime localities like Begumpet, Punjagutta, Sanathnagar and Kukatpally, water entered the cellars of several apartments submerging vehicles and confining residents to their apartments.

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s office said the army and disaster management teams had been called on to help stranded people.

Children wade through a waterlogged street as it rains in Hyderabad, on September 21, 2016. Low lying areas have been the worst affected.

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) commissioner, G Janardhan Reddy, also said people could call on National Disaster Response teams to rescue them by boat.

Reddy further asked locals to avoid coming out of their homes in the wake of a heavy rain forecast for the next 24 hours. Traffic police also appealed to locals to avoid using four-wheelers.

To help mitigate the situation, Rangareddy district collector declared a holiday for private and government schools in Balanagar, Qutbullapur, Malkajgiri and Serilingampally mandals.

Chief minister Rao, who is in New Delhi to attend the Apex Council meeting convened by Union Water Resources Ministry, reviewed the situation with GHMC authorities. He asked officials to take necessary steps to evacuate those in low lying areas if required.

(With inputs from agencies)