Hailstorm and gales wreak havoc across Vikarabad district; national flag at Tandur torn

VIKARABAD: A sudden change in weather conditions brought heavy rain, gales, thunder, lightning, and hailstorm across several parts of Vikarabad district on Thursday evening. Villages and towns, including Peddemul, Tandur Rural, Tandur Town, Dudyala, Bomraspeta, Domah, Parigi Rural, Parigi, and Vikarabad Rural were affected.

Dark clouds engulfed the skies as strong winds accompanied by a hailstorm uprooted trees and broke branches, causing power lines to snap in multiple locations. Electricity supply was disrupted for several hours, severely inconveniencing residents. At Raghavapur in Parigi mandal, the snapping of electric wires led to outages across 15 villages.

In Uddandapur village under Tandur mandal, mango farmer Lakshmaiah Goud suffered losses exceeding ₹50,000 as hail knocked ripe mangoes to the ground. Paddy and other crops in Bomraspeta, Peddemul, and nearby areas were also damaged due to the storm. In Vikarabad hailstorm, a large tree was uprooted.

In Tandur, the national flag, which usually flies proudly in front of the municipal office, was torn by the high-velocity winds on Thursday evening. The flagpole, erected on August 15 last year at a height of 30.50 metres (100 feet) at a cost of ₹25 lakh using advanced technology, now requires restoration.