As many as 16 people lost their lives due to the rains pounding Hyderabad on Wednesday. With the latest deaths, the toll till Wednesday night rose to 24 including eight members of two families, who lost their lives after a large boundary wall collapsed on their houses in Chandrayangutta area late on Tuesday.
Night-long rain has laid siege to Hyderabad city, with hundreds of localities submerged, stranded and besieged by Wednesday morning. It left a trail of devastation and casualties in the twin cities prompting the NDRF, Army and State police to swing into action to rescue the affected people from the inundated areas.
In what is being termed by the Meteorology department as the highest in the month of October since 1891, the city has received an average of 17 cm rainfall. The IMD station at Begumpet recorded 19.2 cm, double from the previous highest of 9.8 cm recorded in 2013.
In a tragic incident, the flooding in Ali Nagar, a neighbourhood in the Mailardevpally police station limits, swept away nine persons, including minors, of the same family. Mohammed Abdul Taher Qureshi, the inconsolable sole survivor, too was washed away in the strong current. But, it was his younger brother who saved him in the nick of time, before himself being swept away. He is currently reported as missing.
According to Mailardevpally police, bodies of two of Mr Qureshi’s relatives were fished out at a distance from his home, in a nala in Falaknuma. Police identified the victims as Darafsha Qureshi (36) and Farzana Tabassum (33). The others, identified as Amera Bibi (8), Abdul Wahab Qureshi (5), Abdul Quddus Qureshi (42), Abdul Wasay Qureshi (50), Abdul Wajid Qureshi (39), and Humera Tabassum (24) are still missing.
Mohammed Abdul Taher Qureshi said that the family was standing on a chabutra (raised platform) near their house, when the unrelenting stream swept the victims away even as the chabutra gave way.
Residents look at an inundated street after heavy rains in Hyderabad on October 14, 2020.
In separate cases, a mother and daughter – Suvarna (45) and Shravanthi (15) – were killed in Ibrahimpatnam, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, after their house collapsed due to incessant rain.
Airport connectivity snapped
The main roadway link between Hyderabad and Bengaluru NH-44 was snapped on Tuesday night after water from an overflowing lake swept away a few vehicles as well as the road in the Gaganpahad area. The same road connects the city to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. Police officials restored traffic towards Bengaluru by diverting vehicles onto the Outer Ring Road and service roads. Sections of the PVNR Expressway connecting to RGIA were also closed for traffic.
A road that was swept away in floodwaters in Hyderabad’s Gaganpahad area on October 13, 2020. The main roadway link between Hyderabad and Bengaluru NH-44 was snapped the previous night after water from an overflowing lake swept away a few vehicles as well as the road. The road also connects the city to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.
While the road stretch has disappeared for nearly 200 metres, the flood waters damaged a portion of the under-construction flyover.
House swept away
In Gaganpahad, a house was swept away along with four inmates. While bodies of three victims, Tamima and Amer, who are siblings, and Tahir have been recovered, Ayaan (8), is still missing.
At about 1.15 a.m., water from an overflowing lake roared onto the road where a flyover is under construction. “You can see the destruction. We have found three bodies and one more person is missing,” said a police official supervising the rescue effort. Cranes and earthmovers have been deployed at the location to clear the road filled with electric supply lines, building debris, muck and a large number of overturned vehicles. Scattered vehicles and debris could be seen all along the path the water took.
A three-year-old boy Sai died after slipping into the cellar of the apartment building which was inundated by rain water at Dilsukhnagar. The boy went to the cellar to play but slid into the water. By the time his parents pulled him out, he fell unconscious. Doctors declared him brought dead. Another person was reportedly electrocuted in a separate accident in Banjara Hills Police Station limits.
A view of the Sindhi colony in Secunderabad after a spell of rains.
Lakes overflow
Lakes across the city overflowed sweeping into homes and apartment complexes, while storm water drains breached onto roads in several localities across the city.
With Himayatsagar reaching the full tank level (FTL), surplus water was released into the Musi, and added with run off from lakes, the river flowed full stream, inundating whatever came in its way.
