Cyclone Montha Disrupts, Floods, Maroons Telangana

Hyderabad: Cyclone Montha brought widespread rains across Telangana on Wednesday, triggering floods, disrupting transport, and damaging vast stretches of crops. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued red and orange alerts for as many as 16 districts as heavy downpours inundated low-lying areas and caused streams to overflow.

Warangal, Hanamkonda, Mahbubabad, and Karimnagar were the worst hit. The rains caused extensive loss to paddy and cotton stocks stored in market yards for procurement.

According to data from the Telangana Development Planning Society (TGDPS), Warangal bore the brunt, with Nekkonda receiving 24.63 cm of rainfall and Parvathagiri 23.48 cm. Other regions recording heavy rainfall included Amrabad (19.7 cm), Uppununtala (20.8 cm), Veltur (18.3 cm), and Ainolu (17.8 cm).

Heavy rains lashed Hanamkonda, Jangaon, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, and Nagarkurnool districts. In Hyderabad, rain persisted through the day, with Musheerabad recording 4.05 cm, Marredpally 3.9 cm, and Boudhanagar 3.85 cm.

Educational institutions were closed on Wednesday, and officials declared a holiday on Thursday in Warangal, Khammam, Bhadradri Kothagudem, and Mahabubabad districts as a precautionary measure.

In Khammam, continuous rainfall forced authorities to open 23 gates of the Paleru reservoir to release excess inflows, while coal production in Bhadrachalam mines and operations in local markets were suspended.

Flooding caused major disruptions to rail services. The South Central Railway (SCR) cancelled and diverted several trains due to waterlogging at Dornakal Junction in Mahabubabad district and Gundratimadugu station.

The Golconda Express and Konark Express were halted, while a Vande Bharat train at Khammam was stranded, with around 60 passengers transported by buses to Warangal. SCR officials advised against non-essential travel and set up helplines for stranded passengers.

In Nalgonda district, more than 500 students from a government-run Gurukulam school at Kommapalli were rescued after floodwaters surrounded the campus. Collector Ila Tripathi said police and disaster-response teams used ropes and boats to shift the children to safety. Floods also isolated several villages in Nagarkurnool district, including Pulicherla and Uppununtala, where breached embankments cut off access. Floodwaters entered homes and power substations, plunging hamlets into darkness.

Tragedy struck in Suryapet district when a 45-year-old man, Kota Lakshminarayana, died after a tree collapsed on him in Chandupatla village. In Nalgonda’s Devarakonda mandal, a bridge at Gudipalli was submerged, stranding commuters and affecting inter-village connectivity.

Viral videos from Khammam showed a goods truck being washed away in the Nimmavagu stream at Jannaram village in Enkoor mandal. The driver, attempting to cross a submerged bridge, was swept away along with the vehicle. In Vikarabad, locals rescued a man using ropes when he nearly drowned while crossing the overflowing Kagina River near Veereshittipalli.

In Hyderabad, showers persisted on Wednesday, while the Musi River swelled after the twin reservoirs released excess water, prompting flood alerts along the riverbanks. Disaster management teams remained on standby across the state as Cyclone Montha continued to bring widespread rainfall and disruptions.