Rains batter Telugu states, navy aircraft rescue 28 stranded people

Hyderabad: Rains triggered by systems in the Bay of Bengal have battered both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, throwing normal life out of gear since Thursday night.

In Telangana, the IMD has already issued a red alert for some areas. According to the Telangana Development and Planning Society (TGDPS), many areas have witnessed 100 to 200 mm of rainfall.

Since Thursday night, districts in northern Andhra Pradesh and the Godavari delta region have been experiencing heavy downpours. In response to a request from the Andhra Pradesh government for rescue and relief operations due to massive flooding, the Indian Navy Air Station, INS Dega, Eastern Naval Command, launched an extensive operation with seven aircraft, including P8I, Dornier, Sea Kings, and ALH helicopters.

Despite challenging weather, the Indian Navy rescued 28 stranded people from Koyamadaram, 250 km west of Visakhapatnam. Disaster response teams also rescued 28 people by helicopter in Bhadradri Kothagudem district in Telangana late Thursday evening. The incident occurred due to the large-scale flooding of the Ashwaraopet Pedda Vagu stream following heavy rains lashing the state.

TGDPS said that Mahadevpur in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district received a record 207 mm of rainfall, which is the highest in the state for this year.

Kotapally in Mancherial received 172 mm of rainfall, Kagaznagar in Komaram Bheem Asifabad received 159.3 mm, and Vemanpally in Mancherial received 156 mm of rainfall.

IMD had issued a red alert for some areas in Mulugu, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Khammam, and Mahabubabad districts, as well as an orange alert for Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Jayashankar Bhupalapally, Warangal, and Hanamkonda. Adilabad, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Jagtial, Rajanna Sirsilla, Nalgonda, Suryapet, Jangaon, Siddipet, Yadadri Bhuvangiri, and Kamareddy districts in Telangana have received a yellow alert.

A yellow alert is forecasting moderate showers, occasional intense spells, and gusty winds for Hyderabad.

More rain expected

The IMD said that the low-pressure area formed over the northwest and adjoining West Central Bay of Bengal off the South Odisha coast on July 15 has now moved northwestwards and concentrated into a depression over the northwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal off Odisha and adjoining north Andhra Pradesh coasts on Friday.

Continuing to move further northwestward with a speed of 7 kmph, it is likely to move northwestward and cross the Odisha coast near Puri as a depression during the early morning hours of Saturday. After that, it would move west-northwestward across Odisha and Chhattisgarh and weaken gradually over the next 24 hours.

Due to the movement of this system, north-coastal Andhra Pradesh is expected to witness light to moderate rainfall at most places, with heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places, most likely on Saturday.

The south coast of Andhra Pradesh is also expected to receive light to moderate rainfall in most places, with heavy rainfall in isolated places on Saturday.