Extreme rain for a few hours Tuesday in Hyderabad left several areas flooded.
Hyderabad:
When the lanes and highways of Hyderabad turned into rivers on Tuesday, nine members of a family were washed away. Three bodies have been recovered and another five are being searched, including a child. The only survivor is Mohd Abdul Tahir Qureshi, 55.
Mr. Qureshi and his family of eight others were trying to cross to their neighbor’s house on the other side of the road when they were washed away by the flood. Tahir Qureshi grabbed onto a tree over a kilometer from his home and survived.
Theirs is one of the horrific accounts of loss and suffering that is emerging in Telangana, two days after a devastating run of rains and floods, as authorities said at least 50 people had lost their lives and damage was estimated at about 6 billion rupees.
Extreme rain for a few hours that has been described as unprecedented and a 117-year high for a single October day in Hyderabad left several areas flooded. At least 31 people died in the Greater Hyderabad area alone.
The body of a postman, who fell into the floodwaters on Tuesday while on duty, was rescued from a lake Thursday, police told the PTI news agency.
Prime Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao held a meeting to review the damage and has written to Prime Minister Nagendra Modi to release Rs 1.35 billion immediately for relief and rehabilitation work, according to a government statement.
Rescue operations continued even on Thursday when a rainless sky brought some relief and water began to recede across most of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) boundaries, although some towns remained flooded.
Chief Secretary of State Somesh Kumar said relief teams were working to pump water out of flooded areas and restore normal traffic, two days after rain flooded roads, houses and toppled parked vehicles.
Authorities expressed concern about the outbreak of the disease, an increase in coronavirus infections and for the safety of those in dilapidated buildings and works.
Around 44,000 people have been housed in 64 relief camps and 45,000 food packages have been provided, the press release quoted as saying.
(With PTI inputs)
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