At least 25 people have been killed in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh following torrential rainfall for the second consecutive day on Monday, September 2. Over 140 trains have been cancelled, and multiple trains diverted due to waterlogging on tracks at several locations in both states. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and assured all possible assistance.
On Sunday, September 1, Chandrababu Naidu visited the flood-hit areas in Vijayawada and announced relief measures. An ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each has been announced for the families of five people, who were killed in the landslides. Naidu has also instructed officials to release Rs 3 crore for each district towards relief measures. Officials have also been asked to evacuate people from the areas that are prone to more damage.
According to Chandrababu Naidu, 17,000 people have been evacuated to 107 relief camps. More than one lakh hectares of agricultural fields and 7,360 hectares of horticultural fields have also been damaged.
In Telangana, the situation is equally dire. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted extremely heavy rainfall until Monday, September 2 night and issued a red alert. All schools and colleges in Hyderabad would remain closed due to adverse weather conditions. The Cyberabad police has issued a public advisory for IT and ITES companies in the city to encourage their employees to work from home on Monday.
Two helicopters from the Indian Navy were deployed in Khammam to rescue residents trapped by Munneru river, which breached and inundated several residential areas. Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy are actively overseeing rescue operations. Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar said nine teams have been dispatched to Telangana on the orders of Union Home Minister Amit Shah–three teams each from Chennai, Visakhapatnam, and Assam.
“About 110 villages have submerged in Khammam. Nine people have been stranded on Prakash Nagar hillock, 68 people on Azmeera Thanda hillock in Palair constituency, and 42 others were trapped in buildings,” Bandi Sanjay Kumar said, adding that he has spoken to senior NDRF officials to coordinate the rescue efforts.
According to Telangana Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), PM Modi gave an assurance that helicopters which can carry out rescue and relief operations in adverse weather conditions would be sent to the state. Helicopters are yet to be put to use for rescue operations due to the inclement weather and the NDRF personnel were using boats to rescue trapped people. Revanth Reddy has reportedly told him that Khammam district suffered the most due to heavy rains and floods.
Heavy rains have been lashing several parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh since August 31 under the impact of a depression in the Bay of Bengal and the active monsoon. Lakes, tanks, ponds and other water bodies were overflowing, leading to inundation of low-lying areas.