The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange warning, downgrading from an earlier red warning, asking officials to be prepared for heavy rains over Telangana in the next 24 hours. Several districts have already evacuated people from low lying areas as all major reservoirs in the state crossed their floor mark levels.
In Warangal Urban, the district collector Rajeev Gandhi Hanumanthu reportedly said that around 2,600 persons have been moved to 13 relief camps in the city limits by Sunday evening.
Officials with the Central Water Commission (CWC) late Sunday evening issued the third warning as Godavari river crossed the 55 feet flood level mark at Bhadrachalam, the floor level mark has crossed the mark after a span of six years. Officials have shifted about 30 families of Kotha colony to a relief camp at Nananpaneni high school. About 3000 people from tribal hamlets of Khammam and Mulugu districts have been shifted to other areas. Several villages are marooned and major roads have been cut off as water from the Godavari flooded 13 villages. More than 1800 persons have been shifted to relief camps and officials estimate about 350 houses have been damaged, reported The New Indian Express (TNIE).
In Warangal due to Flood disaster many houses are submerged in water and people dislocated. In crisis time SIO and JIH Warangal provided 1000+ Food packets to the effected ones. @Collector_WGLU pic.twitter.com/JvM2Aumbaq
— SIO Telangana (@SIOTelangana) August 16, 2020
IMD has predicted heavy rains for Monday. IMD officials stated that Telangana has recorded 38% more rainfall during this year's monsoon.The state has received 683.9 mm of rainfall from June 1 to August as against the normal of 496.6 mm. The Telangana State Development and Planning Society (TSDPS) stated that 12 districts in the state received 20 to 59% more rainfall than normal, eight districts received normal rainfall while Nirmal alone received deficient rainfall.
Mulugu received the highest rainfall among all the districts with 1263 mm of rainfall in this year’s monsoon, which is more than double the normal received by the district in a year. In the past 24 hours alone, the district received 224 mm of rainfall.
DRF teams have reached Warangal and are actively engaged in rescue and relief operations in flood hit areas. Citizens in these areas are being evacuated and moved to safety. @MC_GWMC @KTRTRS @arvindkumar_ias pic.twitter.com/0RTYNWOeEM
— Director EV&DM, GHMC (@Director_EVDM) August 16, 2020
NH-163 have been cut off in Mulugu and the Lankavaram suspension bridge is underwater. At Karimnagar, a road from Rekonda to Sundragiri in Chigurumamidi mandal was split in two by the flow of water.
At Siddipet, officials are still on the lookout for the body of a truck driver who got washed away in a stream. At Adilabad, an old woman and her 45-year-old daughter died when the roof of their mud house collapsed.
My Constituency has 100 kilometres stretch of Godavari river, I requested Telangana Govt in assembly about flood bank revetment long back, now many poor farmers has to face this disaster @TelanganaCMO please consider my request again and help the farmers.@INCIndia @RahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/YjfnvcQumE
— Danasari Anasuya (Seethakka) (@seethakkaMLA) August 16, 2020
In Adilabad, three youngsters who were trapped in the middle of Beligam river at Asifabad mandal, were rescued by the police in a 2-hour long operation. The youth had gone for fishing when the water levels rose rapidly marooning them. Hyderabad received 503 mm of rains which is 34% more than the normal of 376.8 mm.
Inflows into several reservoirs such as the Narayanpur, Juala, Mid Manair, Lower Manair, Kaddam and Sripada YAllampally are nearing maximum capacity, reported TNIE.
The Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will be holding a review meeting on the flood situation in the state on Monday. He is regularly reviewing the situation from time to time. The CM is obtaining district-wise information and giving instructions and suggestions accordingly, said a statement from his office.