HANAMKONDA/WARANGAL: Warangal woke up on Thursday to death, damage, destruction and despair as overnight rain exacerbated the devastation triggered by Cyclone Montha through Wednesday.
Families across Warangal, Hanamkonda and Kazipet spent the night trapped by floodwaters as the tri-cities turned into a vast lake. Power lines snapped, roads vanished under slush, and residents carried children and belongings through waist-deep water to reach safety.
The flooding, eerily familiar from past years, once again exposed the collapse of the city’s stormwater and drainage systems. Many residents said the Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) had failed to clear nalas and drains before the monsoon. With no underground network, open drains overflowed through the night, sending sewage coursing through colonies.
“For 24 hours, we have been without food or sleep. No one has come to help,” said K Ramu of Hanamkonda’s TV Tower area. At Santhoshi Matha Colony, Bhukya Lakshmi said successive governments had ignored repeated appeals. “Every monsoon, our homes get flooded. We need proper drainage and permanent housing,” she said.
3,000 shifted to 14 relief camps
Several localities under the GWMC limits were marooned, forcing mass evacuations. According to GWMC Commissioner Chahat Bajpai, around 3,000 people were shifted to 14 relief camps in Warangal and Hanamkonda. “Teams from the SDRF, NDRF and engineering departments have been deployed to divert floodwater and provide essentials,” Bajpai said. Medical and relief teams have also been stationed at the camps.
Rescue operations went on through the night. Police, GWMC and SDRF personnel used boats, tractors and earthmovers to move residents from submerged homes. In BR Nagar, food packets and water bottles were dropped using drones.
Warangal district collector Dr Satya Sharada, who inspected flooded areas with Endowments Minister Konda Surekha, said illegal structures along nalas were being identified for demolition.
Elsewhere, floodwaters from the Munneru River surrounded low-lying parts of Khammam city. By Thursday evening, the river level had touched 25 feet and was expected to rise further.
Preliminary reports from the agriculture department showed crop losses across 4.5 lakh acres statewide, a figure likely to change once assessments are complete.
Price of a detour: Woman swept away, man clings to tree
Jangaon: One woman is feared dead after being washed away while her friend survived flash floods near Thimmampet village on Wednesday. As per police, the duo — B Shravya and B Shiva Kumar — was travelling from Hyderabad to Warangal on a motorcycle when they were caught in the floods.
Due to heavy waterlogging on the main highway, they took a bypass road, unaware that an adjoining lake was overflowing. The force of the water swept away their motorcycle and Shravya, while Shiva managed to survive by clinging to a tree. Officials said DRF teams have been deployed to trace Shravya
