After Telangana witnessed heavy rains due to the impact of Cyclone Gulab, on Tuesday, September 28, the depression moved away from the state in the west-northwest direction. In the last 24 hours, Telangana received as much as 50.6 mm of rainfall, as against the normal 4.5 mm. Telangana’s Nizamabad district received the highest rainfall of 228.9 mm, while other districts such as Nirmal, Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Sangareddy, Karimanagar, Peddapalli and Khammam district received very heavy rainfall, ranging between 115.6 and 204.4mm.
Within the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits, Rajendranagar in Rangareddy district received the highest rainfall. On an average, areas under the GHMC limits received around 33% more rainfall than usual. Videos from several flooded districts showed people struggling to cross overflowing rivulets, inundated roads and even vehicles which were washed away due to the heavy flow of rainwater.
Hyderabad’s Himayat Sagar reached the Full Tank Level (FTL) after the rains, prompting the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) to open four more gates of the reservoir on Tuesday. With this, out of the total of 17 gates, six gates have been opened up to allow water to be released. The capacity of the reservoir is 2.97 thousand million cubic feet (TMC).
The Osman Sagar lake’s water level also reached the FTL of 1,790 feet. Four gates of the reservoir which were opened up to two feet on Monday, were further opened to three feet on Tuesday. The water from both the reservoirs is released into the Musi river, while the people living along the river banks have been alerted.
With a lake overflowing on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru national highway near Gaganpahad village, authorities advised people going to Hyderabad Airport to use the Outer Ring Road (ORR) on Tuesday. A message was circulated by police officials, advising people planning to travel towards the airport to take the ORR. A part of NH44 was inundated due to the overflowing Appa Cheruvu, disrupting the traffic on the key highway connecting Hyderabad to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad, Kurnool and Bengaluru.
Cyberabad police allowed the movement of only heavy vehicles on one lane of the highway, while other traffic was diverted to prevent any accidents. This is the second year that the NH44 stretch at Gaganpahad has become inundated. Last year in October, five people were washed away while trying to cross the same flooded stretch.
The recently inaugurated Rajanna Sircilla Collectorate was flooded for the second time since July 2021, due to the incessant rains that lashed the district in the last two days. Videos emerged in which stranded employees were seen being rescued using earth-moving machines from inside the Collectorate premises.
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In its latest bulletin, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) announced that a yellow alert was issued in Telangana for Tuesday. Heavy rains were predicted for Adilabad, Nirmal and Kamareddy districts. Though Hyderabad majorly received no rainfall on Tuesday, the IMD has predicted light to moderate rain at many places in the state for the next five days. The state government declared a holiday for government offices, private institutions and educational institutions on Tuesday in the wake of heavy rainfall and forecast of more rain.