As rains batter Telangana, state capital Hyderabad is worst hit

Incessant rains and flash floods have wreaked havoc over the past week in Telangana. In Hyderabad, at least 33 people have died and over 37000 being rescued over the past week. On average, Hyderabad receives rainfall of 77.9 centimeters, but this year has broken all records as the city has already received 80 per cent more rainfall than usual. Rescue efforts are still underway in Telangana. Five South Indian states have been hit by floods with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana suffering the worst consequences. Here is what we know so far.

Causes of heavy rainfall

As per the weather department, rains were triggered by a deep depression over Western- Central Bay of Bengal region. Hyderabad has received 80 per cent more rainfall this year which has amounted to 120 cms. Moreover, the excessive rainfall is also due to cloud burst which has caused flash floods.

Army, NDRF join relief work

Many stranded people have been evacuated and taken to shelters. A large number of food packets have also been distributed jointly by NDRF and Army teams. Army Medical teams have been providing essential first aid and medical relief to the stranded. The NDRF has evacuated more than 1,000 people from inundated areas in Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts. Four more teams of NDRF are currently engaged in rescue operations.

Relief packages

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has announced Rs 10,000 as relief to the flood-affected households in the city. Also, an assistance of Rs one lakh each to totally damaged houses and Rs 50,000 to partially damaged houses has also been offered.
Relief is coming in from other states as well. West Bengal has announced Rs 2 crore aid. Tamil Nadu has already offered Rs 10 crore. The chief minister will also be releasing 550 crore to the municipal administration for relief work.

Death and Destruction

Massive downpour in Hyderabad has so far killed around 33 people, breached major lakes, inundated several colonies and swept away humans and vehicles alike.  The state police, disaster response force and municipality workers have been working round the clock in the relief operations to rescue residents.

Experts have attributed flooding to poor urban planning, a woeful drainage system and the pathetic condition of the Musi river, multiple streams and water-storage tanks.
Experts believe urban flooding occurs due to the incapacity of the city to handle rainwater during extreme rainfall events. There is a need to build climate-resilient infrastructure in cities on a priority basis to avoid such destruction in the future.

Floods in neighbouring regions

Around 77 people have died in the whole of Telangana. But neighbouring states have also been reeling under the effects of floods, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra included.

COVID adds to the woes

Nineteen flood hit people who were shifted to the rescue and relief camps in the GHMC area tested positive for the coronavirus. Over 2,000 flood victims who showed some symptoms related to COVID-19 were tested. GHMC has set up 165 such camps.
As per the health minister Etala Rajendar statment, all those identified as COVID-19 positive were shifted to government hospitals for treatment.

Telugu film fraternity comes to the rescue

South Indian celebrities from the Telugu film fraternity had shown solidarity. They have been providing financial aid. Stars like Balakrishna and Nagarjuna initiated the movement by contributing Rs 50 lakh each, Junior NTR followed it with Rs 50 lakh. Telugu superstars Mahesh Babu and Chiranjeevi took to social media and announced a donation of Rs 1 crore to the Telangana CM Relief Fund. Actor Vijay Deverakonda contributed Rs 10 lakh, Anil Ravipudi and Harish Shankar donated Rs 5 lakh each.