Heavy rain in Hyderabad triggers waterlogging, traffic jams; govt declares holiday for schools, colleges

After a lull in the southwest monsoon showers in August, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted considerable rain across Telangana in September till the retreat of the southwest monsoon in October. Due to a sudden increase in inflow to the city’s twin reservoirs, Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar, authorities have opened two floodgates by up to 2 feet to release the water into the Musi river.

Taking to X, district collector Anudeep Durishetti posted that a holiday has been declared for all educational institutions in the city and appealed to everyone to stay safe indoors. “Important Announcement: In light of the heavy rainfall forecast in Hyderabad, the government has declared today a holiday for all educational institutions in Hyderabad. Stay indoors and stay safe,” he posted around 8.17 am on Tuesday morning, by which time most students were already on their way to school.

According to data from the Telangana State Development Planning Society (TSDPS), Serilingampally, Kukatpally, Rajendranagar, Quthbullapur, Khairatabad and Shaikpet mandals in Hyderabad recorded precipitation of over 12 cm in the last 24 hours, most of which occurred in the early hours of Tuesday.

The highest rainfall of about 15 cm was recorded in Miyapur and adjoining Hyder Nagar. Similar heavy showers were recorded in Sivaramapalle, Gajularamaram, Borabanda, Jeedimetla, Shapur Nagar, Balaji Nagar, Aadharsh Nagar, Gayathri Nagar, and parts of Banjara Hills.

Heavy rain was also reported in districts such as Kamareddy, Rangareddy, Medchal Malkajgiri, Medak, Rajanna Sircilla, and Sangareddy. The highest precipitation of 15.7 cm was recorded in Kamareddy district’s Gandhari mandal, followed by Miyapur (Rangareddy) and Dundigal (Medchal Malkajgiri).

The IMD has issued an ‘orange’ alert, warning of possible heavy to very heavy rain, over isolated parts of Jagityal, Karimnagar, Peddapally, Vikarabad, Sangareddy, Medak, Mahabubnagar, Nagarkurnool districts till Wednesday morning.

A ‘yellow’ alert has been issued for all other districts during the period. Similarly, the IMD has issued an ‘orange’ alert for districts such as Mancherial, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Jagityal, Rajanna Sircilla, Jayashankar Bhupalapally, Mulugu, Mahabubabad, Warangal, Hanamkonda, and Janagaon in the 24 hours leading up to Thursday morning.