Rains wreak havoc in TG; Hyd-bound flights diverted
North Telangana worst hit, crops damaged in some districts
Hyderabad: North Telangana districts bore the brunt of heavy rains that disrupted normal life in many parts of the state on Wednesday. People in the northern districts were subject to harrowing times to reach their destinations due to the extensive damage to roads that was made worse by breaches across culverts and bridges on overflowing canals and water bodies.
Meanwhile, flights were diverted at Shamshabad airport due to the heavy downpour in Greater Hyderabad limits. Hyderabad-bound flights were diverted to Vijayawada, Bengaluru and Tirupati in the afternoon. The IMD issued a red alert for Sangareddy, Medak, Bhupalpally, Mulugu, Khammam, Suryapet, Medchal, Malkajgiri and Vikarabad districts and cautioned people to be vigilant.
Initial reports indicated damages to crops in areas where high rainfall were recorded since morning. As a precautionary measure, schools have declared a holiday in the red alert districts on Thursday.
IMD official Nagaratna said that the intensity of rain will be high in north Telangana districts. Gusty winds at a speed of 40 to 50 kmph would blow in the State for the next five days. There is a possibility of heavy rain across north Telangana on August 17 as a low pressure has formed in the west-central Bay of Bengal.
The civic authorities in Warangal, Karimnagar and other municipalities were struggling to discharge water from the submerged colonies. Police, fire, electricity and municipal officials are working round-the-clock to save lives of people stranded in the flood waters in their habitats.
As a direct fallout, power supply was disrupted for hours together in the heavy rain hit areas in erstwhile Karimnagar, Medak, Nalgonda and Nizamabad districts.
The Irrigation department deployed official teams to monitor water levels in the projects and rivulets that were brimming with heavy inflows to prevent submergence of low-lying areas.
The gates of Kadem reservoir in Nirmal district were opened to discharge heavy inflows. People living in the surroundings of Kadem were evacuated to safer locations. Officials stated that due to heavy inflows into river Godavari, water was released from Medigadda barrage, which was discharging 1.09 lakh cusecs of water per day.
