Hyderabad: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for five Telangana districts as heavy rains continued to lash the state on Friday. Officials placed Nirmal, Nizamabad, Sangareddy, Medak, and Kamareddy under high alert, while Hyderabad, Rangareddy, and Medchal remained on yellow alert.
The department warned of heavy to very heavy rains today and tomorrow. Downpours flooded roads, disrupted life, and triggered flash floods across several districts.
Heavy rains wreak havoc across Telangana
In Hanumakonda, police rescued Gajula Rakesh of Gopalpur, Elkathurthi mandal, who clung to a culvert pillar after being swept away while crossing Tallavagu stream on his moped at midnight. Locals alerted Dial 100, and police saved him with ropes after half an hour.
Karimnagar’s Huzurabad recorded the state’s highest rainfall at 22 cm in the 24 hours ending Friday morning. Lightning killed 94 sheep in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district. In Mahabubabad, two strikes damaged a house roof, leaving a woman unconscious. Floodwater also entered a government school in Karimnagar.
Meanwhile, heavy inflows hit major reservoirs. At Nagarjunasagar, officials lifted six crest gates to release more than one lakh cusecs of water, marking the fourth opening this season. At Sripada Yellampalli, 12 gates discharged floodwaters into the Godavari. In Peddapalli, police rescued four tractor drivers trapped by a sudden surge in the Maneru River.