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Over 30 people have lost their lives as heavy rains wrecked havoc in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh over the past two days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy, assuring them of all possible help from the central government.
Twenty-six National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are being deployed for flood relief and rescue operations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
According to the officials, 12 teams are already deployed in the two neighbouring states,14 more are being dispatched. Out of the 14 teams, reported PTI citing officials.
According to PTI's report, 16 people have lost their lives in Telangana in different rain related incidents.
Andhra Pradesh received power boats which it asked from the Centre to carry out flood relief operations in Vijayawada, especially at a time when it was running short of them.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to dispatch power boats and additional NDRF teams to cope with the demanding flood emergency.
The Union Home Ministry assured Naidu that 40 power boats and six helicopters would be sent to the southern state.
More than 140 trains have been cancelled, and multiple trains have been diverted due to waterlogging over tracks at several locations in both the states.
Gravel from the rail lines on the Vijayawada-Kazipet-Warangal route was washed away on Monday, leading to the suspension of train services. Despite the moderate rains, floodwater continues to flow under the tracks
To avoid any untoward incident amid a severe rainfall warning for Monday and the coming days, the Hyderabad district has declared a school holiday on Monday, September 2, reported PTI.
Meanwhile, District Collectors have been ordered to announce a holiday on Monday in their areas for educational institutions based on the local weather conditions.
15 people in the state have died in rain-related incidents over the past three days, following according to government reports.
According to the Telangana state government, more than 115 villages across Telangana have been cut off from the outside world as the roads leading to them have been completely damaged. While rain ravaged the entire state, the erstwhile Khammam and Warangal districts were the worst hit, with Thirumalayapalem mandal recording a massive 52.2 cm rainfall in just 24 hours, most of it falling early Sunday morning.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Monday declared the immediate assistance of Rs 5 crore to the flood-hit districts. He also announced Rs 5 Lakh ex-gratia to the kin of people who died in the floods.
In Khammam, the Munneru river is in full fury again this season after a gap of 30 years, leaving several people stranded in floodwaters. Many residents, whose homes were inundated, were unable to cook and some even lacked drinking water.
At Nadigudem in Suryapet district, the left canal of the Nagarjunasagar breached, resulting in flooding of approximately 300 acres of crops. The NSP left canal also breached at Mallaigudem village in Kusumanchimandal, Khammam district.
Additionally, in Huzurnagar mandal, around 150 acres of fields were submerged due to the breaching of ponds in Burgadda and Gopalapuram villages.
The Budameru rivulet, known as the ‘Sorrow of Vijayawada,’ once again lived up to its dubious name after 20 years. A breach in the Budameru Diversion Channel (BDC) caused the rivulet to overflow, with water levels rising by the minute.several localities near the Budameru rivulet were inundated with floodwaters, disrupting normal life.
Approximately 2,76,000 people, mostly residents of slums in these areas, were affected. The Budameru was flowing at the level of the bridge, which normally would see the water some 8 to 10 feet below.
Scores of people in flood-ravaged Vijayawada scrambled for milk and food packets on Monday, voicing frustration over the government’s alleged apathy during the past three days of torrential downpours, reported PTI. Multiple localities in the city, including Ajit Singh Nagar, Madhura Nagar, and others, have been submerged.
Visuals aired on local TV showed residents pleading with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu during his flood area visit, expressing dire concerns about the lack of basic necessities like drinking water and food.
As people waded through the floodwaters, some of them held on to some basic necessities in their hands and a large queue was formed at one of the flood-affected places to collect milk sachets and food packets.
"I came swimming for food packets but I did not get one," said a man to a local news channel while another complained that nobody came to help a group of stranded people whose pictures were shared with authorities.
At a large queue formed for milk packets, a flood victim complained that they did not have milk since Sunday morning and alleged that no help came their way from the government.
In addition to the overwhelming flood damage, power cuts exceeding 24 hours have severely disrupted life, leaving many areas without electricity, water, or communications. The situation in Vijayawada remains chaotic, with transportation and connectivity to Hyderabad significantly impacted.
Food packets and emergency medical kits were airlifted from Gannavaram Airport by NDRF teams.