Severe Flooding Hits Telangana Due to Cyclonic Storm Montha

Impact of Cyclonic Storm Montha

Hyderabad, Oct 30: Warangal and Hanamkonda in Telangana faced significant flooding on Thursday as a result of intense rainfall linked to the severe cyclonic storm Montha, which has since downgraded to a deep depression over coastal Andhra Pradesh and nearby Telangana.

The heavy downpour caused extensive damage across Warangal, Karimnagar, Siddipet, Nalgonda, Khammam, and other districts. Roads and railway tracks were submerged, disrupting both road and rail transportation, while agricultural lands suffered severe losses.

Bheemdevarapalle in Hanamkonda district recorded the highest rainfall, measuring 41.9 cm on Wednesday.

Data from the Telangana Development Planning Society indicated that 35 locations experienced extremely heavy rainfall exceeding 20.50 cm, while 68 areas recorded over 11.50 cm.

Continuous rain led to the inundation of numerous residential neighborhoods in Warangal and the adjacent towns of Hanamkonda and Kazipet.

Hunter Road, which links Warangal and Hanamkonda, was flooded due to the overflowing Bondhi stream, halting vehicle movement.

The Warangal-Mulugu road also faced disruptions from overflowing drains.

Flooding severed the road connection to the Bhadrakali temple, with the surrounding colonies affected by the overflowing Bhadrakali lake.

Warangal Mayor Gundu Sudharani reported that approximately 45 localities within the Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) limits were submerged.

She noted that around 1,200 individuals were safely evacuated from low-lying regions and relocated to rehabilitation centers.

Seven teams, including members from the State Disaster Response Force and sanitation staff, were deployed for rescue operations, utilizing boats to assist those in need.

Drones were also employed to deliver food, water, and essential supplies to individuals stranded by the floods.

The situation in Warangal and Hanamkonda worsened due to overflowing tanks and streams. The bus station in Hanamkonda was inundated following the heavy rainfall.

A Road Transport Corporation bus became trapped in floodwaters at Upperpalli village in Wardhannapet mandal, but passengers managed to escape safely.

Endowment and Forests Minister Konda Surekha visited the flood-affected areas of Warangal, communicating with residents in inundated zones and assuring them of assistance.

MP Kadiyam Kaviya and Warangal district Collector Satya Sharada also toured the impacted regions.

In Karimnagar district, flash floods were triggered in Saidapur mandal, isolating some villages due to a canal breach at Venkapalli that flooded the roads.

Additionally, floods in the Munneru River affected residential areas in Khammam town, washing away several vehicles. Nearly 100 families were moved to relief camps.

The water level in the Munneru reached 24.7 feet, prompting authorities to issue a third flood warning as upstream inflows continued to rise, further inundating the Khammam-Bonakal road and halting vehicular traffic.