Sudden rain and thunderstorms wreak havoc, lightning kills three in state

Hyderabad: Life in Hyderabad and several districts were disrupted by the unexpected heavy rains and thunderstorms, which claimed three lives on Thursday, prompting Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to step in and direct officals to take relief measures.

In Nagarkurnool, two women lost their lives after being struck by lightning while working in the fields. Sunkari Saidamma (40) and Gajula Veeramma (60) died on the spot, while another woman, Sunkari Laxmamma, sustained injuries. In Jogulamba Gadwal district, another lighting strike killed a person at Chandrashekharnagar, Manopad mandal.

Hyderabad struggled with severe waterlogging, bringing traffic to a standstill in many areas. Many were seen pushing their bikes through flooded streets, while a bus was submerged in Malakpet and a wall collapsed in Gowliguda, while vehicles parked at Ranigunj were submerged. There were reports of vehicles being washed away in flooded streets.

The Old City, Ranigunj chowrasta, Mettuguda, VST crossroads, Ashoknagar, Gaganmahal, Tarnaka, Begumpet, Basheerbagh, Charminar, Banjara Hills and Parsigutta were among the severely flooded areas. Waterlogging was also reported in Musheerabad and Padmaraonagar.

P. Sravya, a college student from Basheerbagh, said “The road in front of the Bikanervala outlet was completely flooded. I saw two elderly people pushing their two-wheeler through the water because it was too slippery to ride.”

Traffic movement was severely impacted. Around 3.30 pm, vehicles crawled near NMDC due to waterlogging. This affected the stretch from Mahaveer Hospital to SD Eye Hospital.

Traffic police and GHMC workers managed to clear waterlogging at VST, but several other locations remained inundated. A tree collapsed in Old City and another fell on an autorickshw in Khairatabad.

Srinivas, Rachakonda DCP, said, “We have cleared waterlogging in LB Nagar with the help of NDRF, GHMC and our traffic teams. Traffic was slow at HUDA point, Chaitanyapuri and Nagole road, but it is now under control.”

Sai Manohar, DCP Cyberabad, added, “The traffic situation is under control now. We deployed an additional force of 40 personnel in major areas.”

Meanwhile, many people took shelter under flyovers in Secunderabad to escape the rain.

In another incident, lightning struck the retaining wall of the Srigdha NVR Arcade terrace on dairy farm road, Tarnaka.

Meanwhile, the managing director of HMWSSB, Ashok Reddy, directed officials to take precautions to prevent public inconvenience. Emergency response teams were put on high alert, warning boards were placed near open manholes and sewerage supervisors were stationed at critical points.

HYDRAA and DRF teams worked to remove the 28 trees that had fallen and cleared water stagnation across the city. There were 48 water stagnation complaints. Around, nine catch pit blockages were addressed.

DRF teams were pre-positioned in flood-prone areas, ensuring quick response times.

A tree blocking the road near Khairatabad RTA office was cleared within 40 minutes. The response was swift in several locations like Saidabad state bank colony, Basheerbagh, Necklace road, Musheerabad, Assembly Road and Banjara Hills. Floodwater that had reached knee-height in Old Alwal, LB Nagar, Begumpet, Madhapur and NMDC, was pumped out to ease traffic congestion.