At Least 20 Persons Succumb to Heavy Rainfall in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

Hyderabad: At least 20 people died – fifteen in Telangana and five in Andhra Pradesh – in rainfall-related incidents over the last two days. Heavy to extremely heavy rainfalls hit the Telugu-speaking states after a deep depression crossed the coast near Kakinada on Tuesday.

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation is among the worst-hit regions in Telangana. Heavy rains lashed the city, leading to waterlogging on roads and the inundation of hundreds of low lying areas.

Meanwhile, the Telangana government declared public holidays on Wednesday and Thursday in Hyderabad and its surrounding areas in view of the torrential rains.

Rainfall measured over the 24-hour-period ending at 8:30 am on Wednesday at Hyderabad was recorded as 191.8 mm. It is the highest October rainfall reported in Telangana’s capital since 1903.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the depression over Telangana is “very likely to move west-northwest and gradually weaken into a well marked low Pressure area during next 12 hours. Thereafter, it is very likely to continue to move west- northwest ward and emerge into east central Arabian Sea off Maharashtra coast around 16th October morning.There is also possibility of its further intensification into a Depression over east central & adjoining northeast Arabian Sea off Maharashtra–south Gujarat coasts and gradual west-northwest ward movement.”

On Wednesday morning, three members of a family reportedly died after their house collapsed in Gaganpahad, Shamshabad. On Tuesday night, ten people, including a two-month old baby, died in two incidents of wall-collapse in Chandrayangutta police station limits of Hyderabad.

In another incident, on Tuesday night, a 40-year-old woman and her daughter died after a roof collapsed due to the downpour. National Highway 44, which connects Hyderabad and Bangalore, was cut off due to the collapse of the embankment of a lake near Shamshabad.

Thiirteen out of seventeen of the Himayatsagar reservoir’s gates over the Musi river were reportedly lifted in Hyderabad on Wednesday morning. According to officials, the total water storage capacity of Himayatsagar, which is 2.97 TMC, was maintained as of Wednesday morning. The last time the gates were opened was in 2010.

The Hussainsagar lake, in the centre of Hyderabad, is also seeing a heavy inflow of water and has reached full tank level at 513.41 metres.

The heavy rains have caused havoc in all the regions of Telangana. Reportedly, according to the preliminary estimates by officials, crops under cultivation in 53,339 acres of land in Khammam district and 10,253 acres in Bhadradri-Kothagudem districts were damaged. In Nalgonda, another severely affected district, paddy and cotton crops under cultivation were severely damaged.

Andhra Pradesh

Five people were killed in different rain-related incidents due to a wall collapse and drowning in Visakhapatnam, East Godavari and Krishna districts, it has been reported. On Tuesday, heavy rainfall from 11.5 cm to 24 cm was recorded in various parts of Andhra Pradesh.

Hundreds of houses were submerged in East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram, Krishna and Guntur districts. Over 800 families in Gajuwaka of Visakhapatnam district were evacuated as 350 houses were flooded with the rains affecting 40 villages.

With Prakasam Barrage on the River Krishna receiving massive inflows (5.69 lakh cusecs), officials gave notices to several residents, including Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu’s family, in the downstream regions of the barrage, to move to safer locations.

According to the meteorological department, rainfall is likely to continue in the next four days in isolated regions in the state.