HYDERABAD: In what is being considered the most intense rainfall ever recorded in Telangana, Venkatapur in Mulugu district experienced an all-time highest rainfall of 64.9 cm.
The weather forecast had predicted heavy rainfall in north and west Telangana for Wednesday, but the actual rainfall exceeded expectations by over two times. While it was anticipated that the State would receive over 30 cm of rainfall, the recorded rains went beyond 60 cm.
Chityal in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district also witnessed heavy rainfall, registering 61 cm, breaking the previous record of 53 cm in Wazeedu, Mulugu, set in 2013. Another Mandal in the Bhupalpally district recorded 47.5 cm of rainfall. The relentless downpour and catastrophic floods were attributed to vortex formation in the clouds in the regions of the erstwhile Warangal district, including Hanamkonda, Mulugu, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Mahabubabad and Jangaon.
Weather blogger T Balaji, also known as the Telangana Weatherman, explained that severe thunderstorms and cyclone winds transformed into cloudbursts, causing massive floods in Mulugu and Bhupalpally, with over 30 cm of rainfall recorded in just 3-4 hours on Wednesday night.
The rainfall in the last two days in erstwhile Warangal, Khammam and Adilabad districts nearly equalled the cumulative rainfall recorded between June 1 and July 24. The State, as a whole, has recorded a large excess rainfall of 53 cm, surpassing the normal rainfall of 32.9 cm since the beginning of the monsoon.
Apart from erstwhile Warangal, Karimnagar, Bhadradri Kothagudem and Adilabad also experienced extremely heavy rainfall. Some districts, such as Karimnagar, Rajanna-Sircilla, Siddipet, Hanamkonda, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Mulugu, Suryapet, Wanaparthy and Narayanpet, have shown a slightly increasing trend in rainfall during the SW season in last 16 years.
Train services suspended
Train movements between Hasanparthy and Kazipet were suspended on Thursday morning. Five trains were cancelled, four were partially cancelled, two were rescheduled and 40 trains were diverted through alternate routes till 6 pm on Thursday.
Health department cancels leaves
The Health Department has cancelled the leaves of all the medical staff under the Directorate of Public Health (DPH). The department on Thursday notified that the officials and heads of all departments are on alert inquiring about the situation at the field level. A 24×7 command control centre, 040-24651119, has been set up to ensure continuous delivery of medical services