Heavy rains lash Hyderabad; 13 cm rain brings life to halt

Hyderabad: Intense widespread rainfall hit Hyderabad late on Friday night, accompanied by wind and thunder. Several low-lying colonies were inundated, roads damaged and power lines snapped overnight under the impact of the rain.

The heavy rain affected Ganesh Chaturthi festivities, with most pandals reporting almost no visitors. One person died following a wall collapse at Rajendranagar.

The rain filled up Hussainsagar and the gates had to be opened to release the water. Busy areas like Abids and King Koti remained closed as water overflowing from a nala flooded the commercial establishments.

Madhapur received the highest 12.83 cm of rain, followed by Balanagar with 12.7 cm. Bandlaguda and Begumpet were among the 18 other localities that received heavy rainfall.

Nearly 65 trees fell due to heavy rains 
The rain started at about 8 pm and the intensity picked up at about 10 pm and continued till 5 am on Saturday. Some areas in Secunderabad recorded rain up to 8.30 am on August 26. There was another short spell of heavy rainfall in some areas on Saturday night. The city on Saturday crawled back to normalcy, despite the damage caused by the rain.

Nearly 65 trees fell due to the heavy rain, taking down power lines in many areas.

The rainfall filled up the deficit in Hyder-abad, Against the normal of 45 cm, the city has now received 52.6 cm rainfall. The local weather bureau has predicted a few spells of rain and thundershowers till September 1.

Elsewhere, vigorous monsoon conditions were seen over Telangana. Several districts like Medak, Hanamkonda, Rama-gundam and Nizama-bad witnessed heavy showers.

The weather was attributed to a cyclonic circulation over Chhat-tisgarh and adjoining areas. An IMD official said the “axis of monsoon trough” was seen running close to north of Telangana state. These would cause moderate rain with one or two heavy spells in the city and northern parts  of the state.