At least 50 people have died in torrential rains in Telangana, the state government said on Thursday, PTI reported. The deaths include nine people who died in a wall collapse in Hyderabad’s Old City area late on Tuesday. As many as 11 have died in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation area, officials said at a meeting held by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, 10 people were killed in rain-related incidents over a period of 48 hours, PTI reported.
Telangana Chief Minister Rao pegged the state’s loss due to rain and floods at Rs 5,000 crore, reported News18. He has asked the Centre to release Rs 1,350 crore immediately for the rehabilitation and relief works.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken to Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Jagan Mohan Reddy and assured them that the Centre will provide them all possible assistance.
The incessant downpour led to wall collapses in several places in Hyderabad and submerged low lying-areas. A portion of the Qila Shahpur in Jangaon district cracked and collapsed on Thursday morning, according to The Hindu. Videos on social media showed heavy flooding on the streets in Hyderabad. At some places, cars were washed away by the strong currents.
The city has been receiving incessant downpour over the last three days. Hyderabad recorded 191.8 millimetres of rain in 24 hours till 8.30 am on Wednesday, according to The Indian Express. This is the highest rainfall that the city has received in month of October since 1903.
The Indian Army was called in to help with relief and rescue operations in Hyderabad on Wednesday, according to ANI. The Army personnel distributed food packages and provided emergency medical relief to people stranded due to floods.
Also read: Nine, including two-month-old child, killed in Hyderabad as wall collapses after heavy rain
Watch: Scenes of flooded streets from Hyderabad as heavy rain batters the city
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that the Centre was closely monitoring the situation in both the states. “Modi government is committed to provide all possible assistance to the people of both the states in this hour of need,” he had tweeted. “My thoughts and prayers are with those affected.”
Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy, visited flood-affected areas of Hyderabad on Thursday.
The Telangana government had declared a holiday for all its offices and institutions on Wednesday and Thursday in view of the heavy rain, The Times of India reported.
The Indian Meteorological Department has now forecast only light to moderate rainfall for some parts of Hyderabad, NDTV reported. It, however, warned of a thunderstorm over the weekend.
27 die in rain-related incidents in Maharashtra
In Maharashtra, 27 people have died in rain-related incidents in Solapur, Sangli and Pune districts, PTI reported on Thursday. Over 20,000 people have been evacuated to safety in these three districts. Of the casualties, 14 are from Solapur, four from Pune and nine from Sangli, a government official said.
“Excess water is being released from Ujani Dam into the Nira and Bhima rivers, so as a precaution, around 8,400 people living along river banks in the Pandharpur tehsil have been shifted to safer places,” Solapur Sub-divisional Officer Sachin Dhole said.
In Solapur district, six persons died when a wall collapsed in the temple town of Pandharpur on Wednesday. The other eight deaths were caused in other rain and flood-related incidents. As many as 1,650 people were shifted to shelters in Pandharpur.
In Pune, four people died after getting swept away in a swollen stream at Khanota in Daund tehsil, and one person is missing.
Mumbai, Pune and parts of Marathwada in Maharashtra received untimely rains on Thursday as predicted by the weather department. Mumbai recorded 86 mm of rain according to the Santacruz observatory, while Pune city received 112 mm.
Several areas across Pune city and its suburbs went under water. Maharashtra’s Baramati area was flooded after heavy rain, ANI reported. The National Disaster Response Force sent two teams to the rain-affected Latur and Solapur areas.
The weather department has issued a yellow-code warning for Konkan coast, Pune, Mumbai, Thane and parts of Vidarbha and Marathwada for Friday.
The untimely rain caused damage to crops like soybean and cotton in Marathwada, reported News18. The downpour damaged paddy crops.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asked the state administration, Army, Navy and Air Force to be on high alert to tackle any emergency, at a review meeting he chaired. National Disaster Response Teams have been deployed in Osmanabad, Solapur, Pandharpur and Baramati, the Chief Minister’s Office said.
Thackeray asked the district authorities to immediately carry out assessment of the losses caused by the rains. He also directed the local administration of Pandharpur to provide financial assistance to the relatives of those who lost their lives in the wall collapse incident.
Karnataka
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday said he will hold a review meeting with administrative officials of the districts that have been affected by heavy rain and floods, PTI reported. He said funds will also be released to the districts to tackle the situation.
“District in-charge ministers are already touring their respective districts,” he added. He said once these ministers report back on the situation in their districts, the state government will take necessary action.
Yediyurappa said that due to rising inflow in Bhima river, villages that come in the river basin have been affected by floods. As a precautionary measures, people are being shifted to relief camps, he added.
Five NDRF teams – two each in Kalaburagi and Yadgir and one in Raichur – have been functioning. One more team each will be deployed in Kalaburagi and Yadgir, Yediyurappa said. Two helicopters are also being sent to Bidar airport to be used to evacuate people if needed, the chief minister said.
The worst-affected districts are Bidar, Vijayapura, Bagalkote, Kalaburagi, Raichur, Yadgir and Belagavi. As many as 54 relief camps have been installed in these districts, and 7,776 people are taking shelter in them.
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