Hyderabad: The severe thunderstorm that lashed the city early on Friday morning resulted in hundreds of trees falling, walls collapsing, houses getting damaged and roads caving in.
The storm struck with a windspeed of a whopping 100 km per hour at around 3.30am. In two hours, Hyderabad received 75.4 mm rain — the highest in a day in 10 years. Almost the entire city faced blackouts. Power in some areas had still not been restored until 11pm Friday.
Ms Malini Sharma of Methodist Colony, Begumpet said, “My children woke up due to the thunder. It was a frightening morning, and the power cut added to the tension.”
Mr Daman Sardar of Attapur said, “It was loud enough to scare anyone. For most of us it was the first time that we saw something like this.”
Many low lying areas like Rasoolpura, Mayurimarg, Tolichowki, LIC Colony (Marredpally), Musheerabad and Masab Tank witnessed severe water logging. Lower Tank Bund and Necklace Road were blocked by fallen trees.
Read: Power goes off, water supply hit due to thunderstorm in Hyderabad
Trees and billboards fell at NTR Marg, Quthbullapur and Koti. The GHMC’s emergency crews were unable to remove the obstructions on Friday morning, and crucial rush-hour zones all over the city experienced gridlocks.
In areas like Kapra Circle, Chaitanyapuri, Vijayapuri Colony, RK Puram, Karmanghat, Uppal, Ramanthpur and LB Nagar, many residents stepped out of their houses to find trees uprooted because of the winds. Areas like Rajendranagar witnessed a traffic jam due to clogged roads.
People automatically took to social media to share their experiences. One Raj Karsewak wrote, “…constant lighting and thunderstorm this morning was as if city was being bombed by enemy fighter jets. I tell you it was scary.”
