Video Producer: Shohini Bose
Video Editor: Deepthi Ramdas
At least 50 people have died in the torrential rains and flash floods in Telangana, the state government said on Thursday, 15 October.
The state has suffered losses amounting to Rs 5,000 crore, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao pointed out, as he called for the Centre to release Rs 1,350 crore immediately for rehabilitation and relief works, writing a letter to PM Narendra Modi.
The CM held a high-level emergency review meeting on Thursday to discuss the situation arising out of heavy rains and floods in the state.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Response Force teams on Thursday evacuated more than 2,000 people in Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts to safer places, with the rescue operations still underway. Four NDRF teams have been deployed in Hyderabad and surrounding cities, the force said.
Videos Show Heavy Flooding, Rains
In Hyderabad, at least 19 people have died, as the city received incessant rainfall leading to water logging on roads and inundation of some low-lying areas.
In a dramatic video reportedly recorded in Barkas, near Falaknuma, a man could be seen being swept away as helpless by-standers looked on. Locals threw in a tyre to help the person who also tried to grab hold of a pole that came his way but the heavy water currents swept him away.
Vehicles lie partially submerged in floodwater following heavy rains, at Falaknuma, in Hyderabad, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020
(Image: PTI)
In many residential parts of the city, cars could be seen being swept away as locals watched from their balconies, unable to step in and do anything about it. Some of the inundated colonies reportedly were Khairatabad, Chintal Basti, Gandhi Nagar, Maruti Nagar, Srinagar and Anand Bagh.
9 Dead in Wall Collapse Incident
At least nine people were killed in a wall collapse incident on Tuesday in Bandlaguda area. While ten people were killed in other incidents like drowning and electrocution.
Four people were also seriously injured in the incident that took place in Mohammedia Hills, Bandlaguda, when a boulder came crashing down on their houses.
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Falaknuma, MA Majeed, had told the Hindustan Times that the incident occurred at around 11 pm on Tuesday when huge granite blocks of a compound wall and a few boulders fell on the houses.
The report quoted Majeed as saying that five of the victims hailed from one family while the other four belonged to different families. Two houses were also badly damaged.
Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP and AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi had also reached the spot.
PM Modi Assures All Possible Help
PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday tweeted saying that he spoke to Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao and Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jaganmohan Reddy regarding the situation arising out of heavy rainfall in the states. He also assured them of all possible help from the Centre.
Home Minister Amit Shah also took to Twitter to share that the MHA is “closely monitoring the situation in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in the wake of heavy rainfalls.”
(With inputs from NDTV, Hindustan Times, IANS, PTI and The News Minute)
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