Stormwater rush following an early morning downpour created havoc in the city and surrounding areas causing a death, severe inundations and traffic chaos on Tuesday.
A four-year-old boy died after falling into a stormwater drain. His body was fished out from a lake after efforts lasting hours.
As of 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday, Miyapur recorded the highest rainfall at 14.7 cm followed by HMT Nagar in Kukatpally at 14 cm, according to the automatic weather gauges of the Telangana State Development Planning Society. The India Meteorological Department has issued an ‘orange’ alert for the city.
Serilingampally (13.8 cm), Rajendranagar (13.8 cm), Quthbullapur (12.1 cm), Shaikpet (12 cm), Khairatabad, Malkajgiri (10.9 cm), Secunderabad (10.7 cm) were the other areas which recorded more than 10 cm rainfall within a span of a few hours. Rain continued later too, though with lesser intensity.
Several colonies were besieged by rainwater stagnation, and a number of stranded vehicles including an ambulance were pulled out by the Disaster Response Force (DRF) of the GHMC.
A private bus stuck in flood water in the Srinagar Colony area was removed by the GHMC and DRF teams. Another Telangana State Road Transport Corporation bus that got stalled at Aramghar area too was removed by DRF staff. An ambulance abandoned in flood water near Balkampet was removed by the DRF personnel. Another stranded private vehicle was rescued from Dundigal area.
At Dundigal, in Maisammaguda area, a large number of women students of an educational institution had to be rescued from the several hostels in the area. The buildings were constructed over the past three years blocking the surplus channel of a lake near by. Water reached up to first floor of the some buildings, making the rescue operation extremely risky.
Several vehicles and household appliances got washed away in the heavy runoff of stormwater that came swirling down the Borabanda, Krishna Nagar and Yousufguda roads from the upper reaches.
Industrial pollution in the city lakes has come to the fore again, as thick plumes of foam riding the flood water invaded several areas in the peripheries of Banda Cheruvu in Malkajgiri and Periki Cheruvu in Kukatpally.
Stormwater drains breached, streets were inundated and water entered homes in several colonies of Gajularamaram, Manikonda, Quthbullahpur, Sanath Nagar, Balanagar, Kukatpally and others, putting residents to untold misery. Cellars of apartment complexes got flooded, causing damage to elevators and other property.
Heavy inundation on major road stretches caused traffic jams for hours. Due to flooding of Shaikpet, vehicles were stranded on the Tolichowki flyover, testing the patience of the commuters. A similar situation prevailed near Suchitra Junction up to Bowenpally, where the ongoing flyover works led to shrinking of space.
The railway underpass near Balkampet got flooded, forcing vehicles to take a detour, and thus causing traffic snarls.
Kukatpally and the areas beyond it remained cut off from the city for some time, due to heavy stagnation of rainwater underneath the Moosapet Metro Rail station. This caused traffic chaos in all the localities surrounding the area.
The DRF wing received a total 28 complaints of water stagnation, 20 on tree fall, and two wall collapse complaints, besides two bus rescue, and one body recovery.
The Telangana government announced rain holiday for all schools in Hyderabad, Medchal, and Rangareddy districts to prevent any untoward incident.
For any rain related complaints, one may call the GHMC helpline on 040-21111111 or Dial 100 or the Disaster Management wing’s control room number 90001-13667, a statement from GHMC said.
