Telangana, Andhra Pradesh rains claim 25 lives amid severe damage due to flood; PM assures help
Telangana,/Andhra Pradesh, Sept 2 : At least 25 people were killed as heavy rains wrecked havoc in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh over the past two days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah spoke to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy, assuring them of all possible help from the central government.
Twenty-six National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are being deployed for flood relief and rescue operations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
According to the officials, 12 teams are already deployed in the two neighbouring states,14 more are being dispatched. Out of the 14 teams, reported PTI citing officials.
More than 140 trains have been cancelled, and multiple trains have been diverted due to waterlogging over tracks at several locations in both the states.
To avoid any untoward incident amid a severe rainfall warning for Monday and the coming days, the Hyderabad district has declared a school holiday on Monday, September 2, reported PTI.
Meanwhile, District Collectors have been ordered to announce a holiday on Monday in their areas for educational institutions based on the local weather conditions.
Residents of Singh Nagar wade through the flood after the Budameru canal breach in Vijayawada on Sunday.
According to the Telangana state government, more than 115 villages across Telangana have been cut off from the outside world as the roads leading to them have been completely damaged. While rain ravaged the entire state, the erstwhile Khammam and Warangal districts were the worst hit, with Thirumalayapalem mandal recording a massive 52.2 cm rainfall in just 24 hours, most of it falling early Sunday morning.
Residents of Singh Nagar wade through the flood after the Budameru canal breach in Vijayawada on Sunday.
In Khammam, the Munneru river is in full fury again this season after a gap of 30 years, leaving several people stranded in floodwaters. Many residents, whose homes were inundated, were unable to cook and some even lacked drinking water.
At Nadigudem in Suryapet district, the left canal of the Nagarjunasagar breached, resulting in flooding of approximately 300 acres of crops. The NSP left canal also breached at Mallaigudem village in Kusumanchimandal, Khammam district.
Additionally, in Huzurnagar mandal, around 150 acres of fields were submerged due to the breaching of ponds in Burgadda and Gopalapuram villages.
The Budameru rivulet, known as the ‘Sorrow of Vijayawada,’ once again lived up to its dubious name after 20 years. A breach in the Budameru Diversion Channel (BDC) caused the rivulet to overflow, with water levels rising by the minute.several localities near the Budameru rivulet were inundated with floodwaters, disrupting normal life.
Approximately 2,76,000 people, mostly residents of slums in these areas, were affected. The Budameru was flowing at the level of the bridge, which normally would see the water some 8 to 10 feet below.
-PTI
