Telangana floods: 1 dead, over 900 rescued, highways blocked; army, NDRF step in for relief ops

HYDERABAD: A person died when the wall of his house collapsed and another went missing following heavy rains that lashed Kamareddy, Medak and other districts of Telangana on Wednesday.The torrential downpour inundated low-lying areas and paralysed normal life across the northern parts of the state.Kamareddy bore the brunt of the deluge, with Argonda receiving an unprecedented 418.3 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am and 9 pm on Wednesday. Akkapur in Nirmal district followed with 302.5 mm, while several areas in Medak, Kamareddy, and Nirmal recorded between 200 and 300 mm of rain, according to the Telangana Development Planning Society.

The collapse-related death was reported from Kamareddy, where the victim, a Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP), was trapped under the debris. In another case, a person stranded in floodwaters remained missing.Officials said more than 500 people were rescued and shifted to safer places, while arrangements were made to provide food to around 1,000 displaced persons. Nearly 1,071 residents are expected to be evacuated as rescue work continues.

In Medak district, over 440 people were relocated after floods marooned several colonies. National Highway 44 was blocked for nearly 30 km in Kamareddy due to overflowing streams, disrupting traffic flow.Train services were also hit, with the South Central Railway cancelling or diverting several services.The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) rescued nine people trapped in floodwaters at Annasagar in Kamareddy.

In Rajanna-Sircilla, five cattle herders who had crossed a project area near Nirmal were stranded; while one person went missing, four awaited rescue. Drones were deployed in Upper Manair Project to deliver food packets and assist operations.The Indian Army was pressed into service in Medak, where flood relief columns with specialised boats, medical teams and engineering task forces launched operations in coordination with civil authorities, the NDRF and SDRF.

Union minister of state for home Bandi Sanjay Kumar sought defence minister Rajnath Singh’s intervention to deploy IAF helicopters for rescuing 30 people stranded in Kamareddy and Rajanna-Sircilla districts. Singh responded positively, and officials at Hakimpet Air Force Station in Hyderabad were asked to mobilise choppers.Chief minister A Revanth Reddy directed chief secretary K Ramakrishna Rao to intensify relief operations with the support of NDRF and SDRF.

Senior IAS officers will be appointed as special officers in flood-hit districts to supervise operations. A 24/7 control room has been set up at the Secretariat to monitor the situation.State Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy instructed officials to create a breach in a canal running parallel to the Pocharam dam in Medak to release excess water. Ministers assured that measures were being taken to minimise loss of life and property.Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a Red Warning, predicting very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in isolated areas of Medak, Kamareddy, and neighbouring districts till Thursday morning.With schools shut in Rajanna Sircilla, Khammam, Medak, Nirmal, Adilabad, and Kumuram Bheem Asifabad, authorities advised residents in vulnerable areas to remain alert as rescue and relief efforts continue.