By Yunus Y. Lasania and Sruthi Vibhavari Hyderabad: The city woke up to a trail of destruction on Wednesday morning, after heavy downpours, which citizens haven’t seen in years, lacerated localities all across Hyderabad. The resulting floods left over 20 persons dead, apart from several homes getting washed away due to heavy currents and roofs collapsing in various. Apart from the house collapse in Bandlaguda, which was a major incident wherein eight people died, the wall of a house collapsed in Alwal due to the floods, while the earth beneath a building literally gave away at Kondapur because of the heavy showers. Water-logging and traffic is the least of peoples’ concerns this time, given that the torrential rains have put lives at risk. The ground under a building caved in at Kondapur. Photo: Tarun Oblum In the meantime, the Water Board in Hyderabad lifted all 13 of the Himayat Sagar’s gates. Hundreds of people who had built illegal homes on river beds of the Musi river were evacuated to safety by the state government. On Wednesday, water from the Musi river was also overflowing, probably for the first time in 20 years, after the Himayat Sagar’s gates were lifted. The Musi, which has been turned into a cesspool and sewer, has in fact become sort of a spectacle as the gushing water started washing away the tons of filth. It seemed like a minor Doomsday for the people of Hyderabad from Tuesday evening until early morning on Wednesday, as incessant rains threw normal life out of gear. With two-wheelers submerged, cars floating, roads broken, trees and electric poles uprooted and people getting washed away it was nothing short of an apocalypse scene.
A house damaged by torrential rains at Lothkunta. Photo: Dr. Mrudula Tunga According to the Indian Meteorological Department, Hyderabad received between 19 and 20 centimetre rainfall on Tuesday, which is nearly eight inches. During the September 28-19 floods in 1908, Hyderabad, in comparison, had received between 12 to 18.9 inches of rainfall.
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