Hyderabad rains: Heavy downpour causes traffic jams, waterlogging in several areas

Several areas of Hyderabad received heavy showers on Saturday evening, causing traffic jams and waterlogging, days after a torrential downpour in Telangana claimed 50 lives.Some areas received in excess of 150 mm of rain, just a little less than the 190 mm reported on 14 October, according to NDTV.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) office in its forecast for Sunday said light to moderate rain or thundershowers is very likely to occur in some parts of the city, at times intense spells at one or two places in the city.A few places may see intense spells of rain, the IMD added. It also issued a rain alert up to 23 October, the Hindustan Times reported.As per data from 8.30 am to 10 pm on Saturday showed that Singapur Township in Medchal Malkajgiri district received 157.3 mm of rainfall, followed by 153 mm of rain at Bandlaguda near Uppal in the city. Several other areas in the city also witnessed heavy rain, reports PTI.The Disaster Response Force (DRF) personnel of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) were continuously working on the field clearing water stagnations and inundations and all possible measures were being initiated in view of the rainfall, Vishwajit Kampati, Director, Vigilance and Disaster Management of GHMC, said in a tweet.The state government said on 15 October that 50 people had lost their lives due to heavy rains and flash floods and the state government had put the losses, as per preliminary estimates, at over Rs 5,000 crore.The state government has been carrying out relief measures in the rain-affected areas, even as some localities, close to water bodies, remained in the water. Telangana minister KT Rama Rao on Saturday said that flood-hit families will be identified and given ration kits at their doorstep.Each kit will cost Rs 2,800 and will contain one month’s ration and three blankets, he said according to a government release. “Expedite all the relief and restoration measures and bring back normalcy at the earliest,” Rao told officials according to ANI.Rao also emphasised on sanitation and spraying disinfectants in rain-affected areas, and hiring of extra staffing and machinery wherever necessary.While Telangana is the hardest-hit by floods, neighbouring states - Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka - have also been affected.With inputs from PTI