Hyderabad: The rain won’t stop in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and it’s causing chaos everywhere. For two straight days, the skies have been relentless, leading to serious water-logging, submerged houses, and even cars floating around. South Central Railway had to take drastic measures, cancelling over 20 trains and rerouting over 30 in both states due to the severe flooding.
In Andhra Pradesh, several villages such as Ambapuram, Nainavaram, Nunna, and Pathapadu in the Vijayawada Rural Mandal are completely underwater. Police and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are in action, rescuing and shifting people to safer places.
And it doesn’t look like the weather will ease up anytime soon. The weather office issued a warning about cyclone “Asna,” which is creating havoc over the Arabian Sea and is expected to move west-northwest away from the Indian coast in the next 24 hours. This system, described as a deep depression, has triggered heavy rainfall in Andhra Pradesh and Odish over the past couple of days.
An official from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) confirmed that this depression crossed the coast near Kalingapatnam early Sunday morning.
Depression over South Odisha and adjoining South Chhattisgarh and north Andhra Pradesh, about 60 km southeast of Jagdalpur, 70 km northeast of Malkangiri,” the IMD posted on social media, warning it is likely to move across South Odisha, South Chhattisgarh, and Vidarbha, weakening into a well-marked low-pressure area in the next 24 hours.
### Tragedy Strikes: 9 Dead in Andhra Rains
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu assessed the situation with senior officials, urging the use of new technologies like drones to understand the flood situation better and plan relief measures effectively. Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha disclosed that 13,227 people have been evacuated from nearly 300 villages across five districts.
Houses and vehicles partially submerged in flood water in Vijayawada
Photo Credit: ANI
“Until now, nine people have sadly lost their lives because of the rains. Police, NDRF, and SDRF teams have rescued around 600 people from waterlogged areas. Seventeen teams are conducting rescue operations at 22 submerged locations in seven districts,” Anitha said in an official release.
The situation in NTR district is no better. Passengers have been stranded at the station since Saturday night after authorities halted the Tamil Nadu Express due to high water levels in Rayanapadu village. Eventually, passengers were sent off to Vijayawada in RTC buses by morning. Later, when the floods still didn’t recede, railway staff had to use tractors and JCBs to transport people to the Hyderabad-Vijayawada national highway.
### Heavy Rain in Telangana
Meanwhile, Telangana is facing its own set of challenges. Continuous heavy rain has brought normal life to a standstill in Hyderabad and various parts of the state. Severe waterlogging and the overflowing of rivulets have disrupted road links, making transportation a nightmare.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy held an emergency review meeting with officials and elected members. He instructed local representatives to stay put in their areas and focus on providing relief to affected people.
In a tragic incident in Telangana’s Mahabubabad, a young scientist working with ICAR – National Institute of Biotic Stress Management was found dead after being swept away by floodwaters. Search operations are ongoing to locate her missing father.
In NagarKurnool, a brave policeman rescued a man caught in the floodwaters of Naganool creek. The situation worsened in Mahbubabad where an RTC bus and a car got submerged. Thankfully, the passengers were rescued with the help of a JCB crane.
Movement has stopped on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway as floodwater has overtaken the roadway near Suryapet. Overflowing tanks and lakes have led to severe flooding in residential areas in Huzurnagar and Kodad. Khammam and Nalgonda districts are also grappling with rainwater entering homes.
Movement of traffic came to a halt on Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway as flood water submerged the highway near Suryapet in Telangana.
### More Rainfall Likely
The bad news isn’t over. Several districts in Andhra Pradesh, including Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram, Parvatipuram Manyam, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Kakinada, and Nandyala, are expected to see more rain. Thunderstorms, accompanied by lightning, are likely in isolated places in North Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam over the next few days.
A red alert has been issued for eleven districts in Telangana, where extremely heavy rainfall is expected over the next 24 hours.
Stay tuned to India Press Live for more updates on the evolving situation.
