IMD issues 24-hour flash flood warnings for north Telangana districts

#Telangana: 24-hour rainfall of nearly 35 cm.
More #rains in store. IMD issues 24-hour Flash #Flood Risk warnings for north Telangana districts till Monday morning. pic.twitter.com/DqaQynPaCg

— Rahul V Pisharody (@rahulvpisharody) July 10, 2022

While IMD issued an orange alert for these districts for Monday, the state is on high alert with several tanks and reservoirs brimming with heavy inflows of flood water. As of July 10, Telangana has recorded an excess southwest monsoon rainfall of 85 per cent, receiving about 36.5 cm rainfall to date.

Several lakes, rivulets, and rivers are in spate while waterlogged roads have cut-off several villages as non-stop heavy rains continue to pound northern districts of Telangana since Friday.

These districts have faced the worst downpour. As of 8.30 am Sunday, Mutharam Mahadevpur Mandal in the state’s Jayashankar Bhupalpally district recorded nearly 35 cm of rainfall in 24 hours. Kataram (34cm), Mahadevpur (25cm), Vemanpally (23cm),Chennur (23cm), Mudhole (23cm), Ramagundam(22cm) have recorded over 20 cm rainfall in a day. The Nizamabad district has recorded an average rainfall of 10 cm and 11 cm in the last two days, the highest in the state.

Reviewing the situation, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao Sunday asked the chief secretary and district collectors to make available NDRF and rescue teams in flood-prone areas.

The CM directed ministers, MPs, MLAs, and representatives of local bodies to remain alert and join rescue operations to ensure no damages occurred. Following heavy inflows and flooding in rivers Godavari and Pranahita, the CM alerted state irrigation department officials and instructed them to take necessary steps.

In the state capital of Hyderabad, waterlogging of roads and low-lying areas, and traffic snarls threw life out of gear for citizens. Greater Hyderabad received an average rainfall of 3.7 cm, with the highest rainfall of 5 cm recorded at Kukatpally. The non-stop drizzle also brought down the day’s temperature with the highest maximum temperature for the day recorded at 25.7 degrees C at Kishanbagh.

Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi told the media that 383 rain-related grievances were received by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and 375 were addressed while 8 were in progress. As lakes across the city posed a threat of overflowing, the mayor said precautions were taken at all 197 lakes and special teams were engaged to supervise the flow of water.

If need be, sluice gates will be lifted to allow water to recede, she said. Sluice gates of Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar, two major reservoirs on the outskirts of the city, maybe opened as they are fast filling up.