Heavy rains lash Telangana, Andhra Pradesh

Heavy rains accompanied by squalls lashed Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on Friday, officials said.The heavy downpour, which began around Thursday midnight, continued till early Friday morning, inundating roads and low-lying areas in Hyderabad and suburbs.

Strong gales uprooted trees, electricity poles and hoardings while snapped electricity wires plunged several parts of Hyderabad into darkness.

The fallen trees and electricity poles disrupted traffic.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) set up an emergency helpline to attend the calls of flooding.

Roads were inundated in areas like Secretariat, Khairatabad, Panjagutta, Ameerpet and Madhapur.

In Secunderabad, several trees were uprooted on Rashtrapati Nilayam-Lotugunta road.

Many spent sleepless nights as the rain water entered houses in low-lying areas in L.B. Nagar, Alwal, Uppuguda and Kavadiguda. Parking lots in apartments were also flooded.

GHMC commissioner Jarandhan Reddy held a tele-conference with officials to review the situation.

The rains and hails also wrecked havoc in other districts of Telangana, damaging crops. There was massive damage to mango trees in Nalgonda district.

A part of railway track near Valigonda in Nalgonda was damaged.

In Andhra Pradesh, heavy rains lashed parts of coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions. Officials said 20 sheep were killed due to lightening in Anantapur district.

The heavy downpour inundated low-lying areas in Vijayawada city and several parts of Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, East Godavari and West Godavari districts.

One person died when a hoarding fell on him in Tadepalli in Guntur district.

The rains, however, provided relief to people reeling under the heat wave in both the Telugu states. It considerably brought down the temperatures and made the weather pleasant.

In Telangana, where the heat wave has so far claimed 234 lives, the temperatures fell by three to four degrees.

The Met office has forecast more rains under the impact of upper air trough from Vidarbha to extreme South Peninsula across Telangana. It has also warned that thunderstorm will occur at a few places.