Three people were killed in a wall collapse here on Thursday after a flash thunderstorm lashed different parts of Telangana and parts of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
With the IMD forecasting severe thunder squalls and heavy rainfall at isolated places over the coming two days, the two state governments alerted district collectors to be ready with relief measures and to undertake rescue operations.
Electrical poles were uprooted and hoardings came crashing down as heavy rains coupled with gail winds swept Hyderabad city. The power supply was shut for four hours affecting normal life. In Aramghar, three people taking shelter under a tree died as a wall next to them collapsed. In Jayshankar Bhupalpally, which was sizzling under severe heat wave conditions in the morning, a hail storm cooled the temperature within minutes.
While the rains brought welcome relief to city residents, the untimely downpour soaked paddy and corn waiting to be lifted from market yards in many districts of Telangana, including Nalgonda. The government reassured the farmers that the discoloured paddy would be procured by parboiled rice millers.
19 deaths in AP?
In Andhra Pradesh heavy rain inundated low lying areas in Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts. The rain was reported from reserved forest areas also. Guntur, Krishna, East and West Godavari districts recorded heavy rain. At the interim Secretariat in Amaravati, rainwater entered the chambers of several ministers and Leader of the Opposition Y S Jaganmohan Reddy for the second day.
State Disaster Management Department, in its lightning forecast, warned people in Krishna district not to venture out in the open fields due to the possibility of thunderbolt strikes at many places. Unconfirmed reports put the rain-related death toll in last two days at 19 in AP.
Khammam district of Telangana and Vizianagaram district in north AP bore the brunt of the freak weather. Thousands of acres of paddy ready for harvest and maize were inundated. Horticultural crops, particularly banana plantations, were affected. Crops across large tracts were damaged in Prakasam district.