In heavy rains across Telangana on Wednesday, which has left roads looking like rivers, cars completely submerged and buildings almost entirely flooded, 30 people have reportedly died.
As per the initial reports, as many as 15 deaths are from Hyderabad alone.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart, Jaganmohan Reddy, yesterday over the situation assuring them of all possible support from the central government.
“Assured all possible support and assistance from the Centre in rescue and relief work. My thoughts are with those affected due to the heavy rains,” he tweeted.
The usually tame Musi river was in spate and flowed over the bridges and the Hussainsagar Lake overflowed the embankments and turned the streets into streams with cars, lorries, container vehicles and even people swept away in the gushing water.
Andhra Pradesh too experienced heavy rain which claimed ten lives in the state and caused extensive damage to crops, roads and uprooted electricity poles.
After the deluge hit the city around yesterday night the Telangana government declared two days of holiday till Thursday and urged the residents against venturing out unless there was an emergency. Since midnight, personnel from army, NDRF and the civic body’s own disaster response force (DRF) used boats to evacuate scores of people who were marooned in their houses. People had a tough time with the streets flooded, power supply hit and telecom lines disrupted, leaving them without even drinking water. There were also reports of roads caving in at various locations such as Moosapet.
Areas like Begumpet and Somajiguda which are in the very heart of the city were completely flooded. Video footage showed water gushing out at Yashoda Hospital, Somajiguda, which is a key private hospital for treating Covid -19 patients.
Although the deep depression has started to move away, according to the weather forecasts there is more rain in store for the city in the next two days. Telangana which has witnessed unprecedented rain during past two months saw Hyderabad receiving 176.6 mm of rain on a single day when the normal is just 4.2mm. Many areas in the city recorded over 200 mm of rain in past 24 hours.