Andhra Pradesh, Telangana rain highlights: Andhra, Telangana reel under rain fury; 31 dead, lakhs affected

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday assured Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu of all possible help from the Centre to deal with the crisis following heavy rains in the state.

Modi spoke to Naidu over phone to enquire about the prevailing flood situation in the state where several places, Vijayawada being one of the worst affected, are being pounded by heavy rainfall for the past two days due to a depression.

“CM Chandrababu Naidu explained about the ongoing flood relief work while Modi told him that central government departments concerned have been directed to extend necessary help to the state,” said an official statement released by the state government late Sunday.

The prime minister said departments have also been instructed to immediately dispatch necessary equipment, it said and added that Naidu thanked Modi for the help.

-PTI

Announcing an interim relief of ₹10,000 each to the flood-affected families, Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said the government will enumerate the losses and provide compensation to the families affected by Sunday’s flash floods in Munneru river.

The Chief Minister visited Polepally village in Khammam rural mandal on Monday evening as part of his tour of the flood-affected areas in Khammam and elsewhere in the district. He visited some of the flood affected colonies in Khammam and interacted with the local denizens.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert in 10 districts of Telangana for Tuesday (September 3, 2024).

The 10 districts

As per a bulletin, thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and gusty winds is very likely to occur at isolated places in Adilabad, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Peddapalli, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Mulugu, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Khammam, Suryapet and Mahabubabad districts.

With parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh reeling from torrential rains, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday urged Congress leaders and workers to mobilise all available resources to support the ongoing relief and rescue efforts.

Gandhi asserted that the Telangana Government is working tirelessly to manage the crisis and initiate the rebuilding process.

“I strongly urge both the central government and the Andhra Pradesh government to swiftly provide comprehensive rehabilitation packages for all those affected by this disaster,” he said.

“My thoughts are with the people of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as they endure relentless rainfall and devastating floods,” the former Congress chief said.

He extended his deepest condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones.

-PTI

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said Andhra Pradesh would experience heavy to very heavy rains considering the well-marked low-pressure area over West Central and Northwest Bay of Bengal, off the north Andhra Pradesh coast, intensified into a depression on Saturday (August 30, 2024).

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has also put out a caution on Saturday (August 31, 2024) morning to be cautious, before the rain started to cause immense damage in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the AP State Disaster Response Force (APSDRF) have evacuated about 25,000 flood victims stranded in the colonies in NTR and Krishna districts.

More than 50 boats were deployed in the inundated areas to rescue the residents and to distribute food and water packets to the victims. Besides, boats were being arranged from Eluru, West Godavari and Prakasam districts, said the officials.

The flood victims were seen searching and enquiring for their family members. In the colonies, a few parents were seen requesting the rescue teams to provide milk and food for their children.

Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) Commissioner Ashwini Tanaji Wakade has urged residents of low-lying areas in the tri-city of warangal to seek refuge in relief camps as rains likely to continue to lash the city. She has inspected the flood hit areas including VDOs Colony, Bapuji Nagar, Indiramma Colony, NN Nagar, BN Nagar, Ursu Government School, DK Nagar, Telangana Colony, and Maisaiah Nagar on Monday (September 2, 2024). 

Considering the ongoing heavy rainfall and the forecast of more to come in the next two days, she emphasized the importance of moving to the relief camps set up by the civic body. These centres are equipped to provide essential services, including clean water, meals, blankets, and healthcare until the situation stabilizes.

Nearly 4.5 lakh people were affected by the unprecedented rainfall and floods in Andhra Pradesh over the past three days, leading to the evacuation of 31,238 people to 166 relief camps.

The most affected districts included NTR, Guntur, Krishna, Eluru, Palnadu, Bapatla and Prakasam, said an official press release on Monday.

Twenty SDRF and 19 NDRF teams are engaged in relief and rescue operations.

Two more SDRF and nine NDRF teams are en route to Vijayawada, the worst affected place in the southern state where rains and overflowing rivulets wreaked havoc.

As per the request of Guntur and NTR district administrations, the Indian Navy agreed to deploy two choppers for search and rescue operations in the affected areas; one of which has already arrived in Vijayawada, said the release.

-PTI

At least 16 people lost their lives in various rain-related incidents, while some persons were still missing during the current spell of heavy rainfall in Telangana even as Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy decided to urge the Centre to declare the floods in the state as a national calamity.

Due to the forecast of heavy rains in Hyderabad district, a holiday has been declared for all primary and secondary schools, under all managements (Government, Aided, and Private) on September 2, as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of the children, officials said.

Discharge of flood from the spillway of Sriramsagar Project (SRSP) was taken up on Monday (September 2, 2024) morning with the flood monitoring engineers deciding let out the flood by lifting eight crest gates, to begin with, at 10 a.m. The flood water was let out as the inflow to the project increased to nearly 2 lakh cusecs and the storage reached 72.3 tmc ft against it full capacity of 80.5 tmc ft.

Just before noon, the engineers increased the discharge to 1 lakh cusecs from 26 spillway gates. At around 12.30 p.m., it was further increased to 1.5 lakh cusecs from 40 out of 42 gates. At 1 p.m., the flow was about 1.96 lakh cusecs with release of water to Kakatiya, Saraswati and Flood Flow Canals. Another 5,000 cusecs was let into the river course from the escape channel after power generation (4x9 megawatt units).

A school principal in Ghatkesar was electrocuted to death while trying to clear rain water at his residence on the campus on Sunday (September 1, 2024).

Ghatkesar Inspector S. Srinivas said that 50-year-old Srinivas Rao resides inside the campus of Vignan School while his family stays in Khammam. “On Sunday, between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., he was reportedly trying to clear a puddle of water accumulated near his house using an iron rod, which came in contact with a live wire. He died on the spot,” said the officer. 

At least 16 people lost their lives in various rain-related incidents as torrential rains lashed Telangana and the state government on Monday put the damage at Rs 5,000 crore as per preliminary estimates and sought an immediate assistance of Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre.

The incessant rainfall caused inundation of low-lying areas, damage to agricultural crops and disruption of the state’s rail and road links with neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh each to the kin of those who were killed in the rain-related incidents, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the rain-hit areas and to declare the floods as a national calamity.

An official release quoted Revanth Reddy as saying that the damage was to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore as per preliminary estimates.

The CM held a meeting with ministers and officials at Suryapet as part of his visit to rain-hit areas.

-PTI

Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday expressed grief over the flood situation in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and urged Congress leaders to mobilise aid to support the ongoing relief and rescue efforts in both the States.

“My thoughts are with the people of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as they endure relentless rainfall and devastating floods. I extend my deepest condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones. I urge Congress leaders and workers to mobilize all available resources to support the ongoing relief and rescue efforts,” Gandhi said in a post on X.

The Congress leader emphasized that the Telangana Government is working tirelessly to manage the crisis and initiate the rebuilding process.

He further posted, “I strongly urge both the Central Government and the Andhra Pradesh Government to swiftly provide comprehensive rehabilitation packages for all those affected by this disaster.”

ANI

Due to the low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal, the Kurnool district has experienced continuous downpour over the past three days, leading to flooding in many areas affecting normal life.

The downpour, particularly in Yemmiganur, Aspari, and Kosigi mandals, has resulted in significant damage to groundnut, cotton, chili, and other crop fields. In Kosigi mandal’s Chintakunta village, hundreds of acres of chili crop have been submerged, while in Aspari mandal’s Chirumanu Doddi village, approximately 2,000 acres of tomato fields have been affected. Several roads in the rural side between Kurnool and Nandyal district were damaged, and water is flowing over causeways in many places.

Train services in the South Central Railway (SCR) in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh continued to be disrupted with at least 18 services cancelled due to track getting washed away in three places and inundation of tracks at several places on Monday (September 2, 2024) too.

SCR’s general manager Arun Kumar Jain and his top brass including DRM-Secunderabad Bhartesh Kumar Jain rushed to Intakane-Ramagundam section of Secunderabad division to personally supervise the repair works.

Restoration works atrailway tracks between Kesamudram and Intakanne railway stations in Mahabubabad district

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A State Disaster Response Force worker carrying an old man to safety through the flood water, at Ajit Singh Nagar, in Vijayawada. Photo K. V. S. Giri

The State Government has decided to set up Telangana Disaster Response Force to tackle emergency situations like floods in future. 

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy announced this during a meeting with Ministers and senior officials to review the flood situation and know about the relief measures put in place to avoid inconvenience to people in the affected areas. The meeting had decided to enhance ex-gratia for families of those who died due to floods from ₹4 lakh to ₹5 lakh each, and that for milch animals to ₹50,000 from the existing ₹30,000.

Photo: K.V.S. Giri

Many waterbodies within the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) have reached the surplus water levels under the impact of the continual rains for the past few days.

On Monday (September 2, 2024) morning, a total 33 lakes were releasing surplus water downstream, as per information shared from the Lakes division of GHMC. Seven more lakes have reached the ‘full tank level’ (FTL), shared the officials. - The Hindu Bureau

Andhra Pradesh is likely to experience another wet spell from September 5 under the influence of a fresh low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal, informed IMD.

“The fresh low-pressure area is likely to be formed over the Bay of Bengal by September 5,” said an official statement from the IMD on September 2. Under which, heavy to heavy rainfall are likely to occur in several districts of Andhra Pradesh from September 5. - The Hindu Bureau

As Hyderabad grapples with incessant rains, gig workers who have been braving the adverse weather conditions shared the challenges they face while delivering food and groceries and transporting passengers to their destinations. 

Considering the ongoing heavy rains in the district and neighbouring places, authorities have issued an advisory urging tourists to refrain from visiting key attractions in the area. District Collector T.S. Divakara recommended that tourists avoid popular sites such as Bogatha waterfalls, Laknavaram Lake, Ramappa Lake, and the Sammakka- Saralamma temple until the weather conditions improve. 

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy left for flood-affected Khammam district after holding a review meeting on flood relief measures and damage caused due to rains, in Hyderabad, on September 2,2024. 

A view of an embankment with sandbags put up at the old retaining wall in Krishnalanka, in Vijayawada city, to prevent flooding of the habitations by the massive discharge of Krishna River water. Photo: K.V.S. Giri

Photo: K.V.S. Giri

Builder associations in Telangana have called on all stakeholders to prioritise the safety of construction workers amid the heavy rains in the State and recommended halting all construction activities for the next 48 hours.

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy directed officials to take up repairs of roads damaged by rains immediately. Mr. Reddy, who also holds Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) portfolio, directed police commissioners to ensure flow of traffic in Hyderabad remains uninterrupted despite the rains.

Mr. Reddy held a meeting on the flood relief measures and damage caused by rains in the State at Integrated Command Control Centre (ICCC), Hyderabad on Monday (September 2, 2024) morning before heading to flood affected Khammam. He asked officials to address issues with power supply on priority basis. 

The cancellation of a dozen trains, originating in Visakhapatnam and 19 long distance trains, due to water overflowing on the tracks in AP and Telangana has led to Visakhapatnama railway station, the busiest junction over East Coast Railway (E Co R), wearing a deserted look on Monday morning.

There were a few passengers waiting in the portico and other entry gates towards the main entry to the station and a few waiting towards the Gnanapuram entry. About a dozen passengers were seen at the ‘refund counter’ on PF-1 and Helpline also drew one or two passengers asking for the arrival/departure of their trains. 

This is because Waltair Division officials have announced on Sunday itself on cancellation/short termination/diversion of trains in view of the flood situation over South Central Railway (SCR). The Help Desk and special refund counters were arranged on Sunday itself. 

Amid the heavy rainfall in Andhra Pradesh, Governor S. Abdul Nazeer has expressed concern over the heavy rain and floods causing disruption of normal life in Vijayawada and surrounding areas. The Governor cautioned people to remain in safer places and not to venture outside except in emergency situation with the help of government authorities.

He said “those who are stuck in inundated areas should contact government authorities so that the NDRF teams can be deployed to rescue them and take them to safer places.”The Governor also requested the Red Cross, Scouts and Guides, and other NGOs to coordinate with the government authorities and actively participate in the rescue and relief operations and distribution of food, medicines and other essential items to the affected people”.

- ANI

Three lakh food packets are distributed in the flood-hit areas of Andhra Pradesh so far, mostly in NTR and Guntur districts

Heavy inflow from the upstream catchment areas coupled with incessant rain in the local catchment areas since Saturday has resulted in all projects in the Krishna Basin discharge heavy water downstream. Projects in the Godavari Basin up to Sriramsagar, however, still have a plenty of flood cushion, though projects from Yellampally are witnessing heavy inflow of water.

According to an advisory of the Central Water Commission, rise in water level is expected in the rivers Tapi, Wardha, Wainganga, Penganga, Girna, Indravathi, Purna, Dudhana, Pranahita, Godavari and other rivers in districts Nagpur, Wardha, Yavatmal, Nanded, Washim, Parbhani, Akola, Jalgaon, Jalna, Beed, Latur, Amravathi, Aurangabad for the next two days.

Special Chief Secretary (Energy) K. Vijayanand visited Dr. Narla Tatarao Thermal Power Station (NTTPS) at Ibrahimpatnam, the State Load Dispatch Centre at Vidyut Soudha and Central Power Distribution Company (DISCOM) control room at its head office and enquired about the steps taken to streamline the power supply following the disruptions caused by heavy rainfall in the last few days.

Mr. Vijayanand said that people can call the toll-free number 1912 to register complaints related to interruptions in power supply and that the snags will be rectified in the least possible time. He stated that the power utilities incurred a loss of ₹1.02 crore due to heavy rains — a vast chunk of it, ₹85 lakh, in the CPDCL jurisdiction and the remaining in EPDCL limits.

Power supply was interrupted to over 3,000 service connections in 60 villages of nine mandals under five operation circles of the Visakhapatnam-based Eastern Power Distribution Company of A.P. Limited (APEPDCL), an official release said on Sunday.

Discom CMD Pruthviraj Immadi said, “Power supply will fully be restored by Monday as our teams are already engaged in the process. Supply was affected due to rains and winds under the influence of depression over the Bay of Bengal.”

The statement said that a total of 3,299 service connections in 60 villages were affected, which excluded 56 agriculture connections.

South Central Railways (SCR) has announced the cancellation of 69 trains for the next couple of days in view of the heavy rains in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and waterlogging of tracks.

Nine trains have been cancelled for Monday alone.

The State Government had urged the Centre to declare the impact of heavy rains/floods in the State as national calamity. The Chief Minister said he would personally request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to undertake a visit of the flood affected areas in Telangana.

He instructed the officials to be on high alert in the areas where heavy rains were forecast and call centres should be set up in the collectorates of the affected districts. He suggested that training should be provided to eight police battalions on the lines of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for deployment of emergency services during heavy rains and floods.

Telangana State Government has announced release of ₹5 crore each for Khammam, Bhadradri Kothagudem and Mahbubabad districts battered by the incessant rains for taking up immediate flood relief measures.

The State Government has announced ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh each to the families of victims who died due to the incessant rains. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy made the announcements while reviewing the situation in the rain hit districts with senior officials.

Union Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar visited flood-hit areas in Guntur city along with Guntur East MLA Md. Naseer Ahmed.

Mr. Chandra Sekhar visited houses inundated by floodwater and spoke to the families in distress in Old Guntur, L.B. Nagar, Pragati Nagar and Suddapalli Donka areas.

He said the State government was taking necessary relief measures and that the Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) has been ordered to drain out the floodwater from low-lying areas on a war-footing.

Eight National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and ten AP State Disaster Response Force (APSDRF) teams were pressed into service in the inundated colonies in Vijayawada.

Former chief minister and YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy inspected the flood at Krishnalanka in Vijayawada city.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu once again took to the flood waters in Vijayawada city in a boat and took stock of the situation along with Police Commissioner S.V. Rajasekhara Babu. 

In a brief chat with the media persons, Mr. Naidu said he was requesting the people held up in the flooded areas to bear with the problem for a couple of hours, and that there was no need to panic.

He said more than 100 boats were pressed into service in and around the city and a total of six helicopters were set to airlift people to the extent possible and deliver food.

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy will inspect the flood affected areas in Khammam on Monday (September 2, 2024), which was lashed by heavy rains on Sunday (September 1, 2024). The Chief Minister held a meeting on the damage caused by the rain, flood relief measures at the Integrated Command Control Centre in Hyderabad on Monday morning. From there, he will head to Khammam by road.

Compared to the other districts in the State, Khammam and its surroundings were worst hit as flood water swept through some villages and towns. Loss of lives too were reported.

The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday received power boats which it asked from the Centre to carry out flood relief operations in Vijayawada, especially at a time when it was running short of them.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to dispatch power boats and additional NDRF teams to cope with the demanding flood emergency.

The Union Home Ministry assured Naidu that 40 power boats and six helicopters would be sent to the southern state.

“Power boats reached Vijayawada. Following discussions with the Centre on Sunday, a large number of boats were dispatched from other states. Food is being distributed in Ajit Singh Nagar using the boats,” said an official statement on Monday.

- PTI

The Telangana government stepped up relief measures following heavy rains in the state which led to the death of at least nine people and inundation of low-lying areas. The affected people were shifted to relief camps at some places in the state.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy will conduct a meeting with officials on the rain relief measures.

People in several places in the state were grappling with the situation though there had been some let up in the rains on Monday morning.

- PTI

Life was completely thrown out of gear in Vijayawada following torrential downpours over the past three days and with more than 24 hours of power cuts in several parts of the city.

There was severe disruption to internet and mobile telephone connectivity, and long traffic jams disrupted normal life, including connectivity to Hyderabad.

Transportation within Vijayawada city and its vicinity is in a chaotic situation. While there is no way to reach Hyderabad even through Khammam, expect a slight possibility via the Piduguralla route.

- PTI

In anticipation of heavy rainfall , the Cyberabad Police have issued an advisory urging all IT and ITES companies to allow their employees to work from home on Monday (September 2, 2024).

Joint Commissioner of Police for Traffic in Cyberabad, D. Joel Davis, emphasized the importance of prioritizing employee safety and well-being during this inclement weather. By encouraging work-from-home arrangements, the police aim to minimize the risks associated with commuting and reduce traffic congestion, ensuring smooth operations for emergency services.

In view of the prevailing weather conditions and heavy to moderate rain forecast in parts of Telangana and the government’s direction in declaring Monday a holiday for all government and private educational institutions, various examinations too stand postponed.

According to Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, the B. Tech III year I Sem examination, B. Pharm III year I Sem and MBA I year I Sem examinations scheduled for Monday will be held on Thursday.

Controller of Examinations, Osmania University, stated that all examinations to be held on Monday in its jurisdiction stands postponed and all the remaining exams will be conducted as per the timetable. Schedule of the postponed exam will be disclosed later.

Following two days of continuous heavy rainfall across parts of Telangana, the intensity is expected to decrease from Monday (September 2, 2024). The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for six districts in the State, while thunderstorms accompanied by lightning are forecast for other areas.

The base of the pillar at Gate No. 69 in Prakasam Barrage was damaged when a fews traditional wooden boats which got unmoored in the upstream and came floating in the flood waters and got struck in the gate in the early hours on Monday.

Officials discharged about 11.25 lakh Cusecs of flood in to the sea from the barrage by lifting all the 70 gates.

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Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu visited the flood - affected areas in and around Vijayawada city well past midnight and was on the field till about 3 a.m. in spite of security concerns as the Krishna River flood fury continued for the third day. 

Mr. Naidu traveled in a boat in Singh Nagar for the second time in less than 24 hours and spoke to the people who were stuck in their houses amidst several feet of swirling water of the river that is in spate, and personally handed over food to some of the flood victims.