Hyderabad: The Kamareddy and Medak districts of Telangana have been plunged into a state of crisis following an extraordinary downpour on August 27 and 28, described by officials as the heaviest in half a century. The intense downpours sparked severe flooding, leading to widespread damage, disrupted transport networks, and massive rescue operations involving the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).

Record-breaking rainfall and scale of the disaster

The rainfall was both intense and widespread. By mid-morning, official records painted a grim picture: 499 millimeters of rain in just 14 hours, an amount some regions don’t see in an entire season. The skies were relentless. Argonda village bore the brunt, recording 418 mm of rainfall within nine hours, and the district quickly slipped into chaos. In a telling statistic, 23 locations across Kamareddy, Medak, Nirmal, Nizamabad, and Siddipet received more than 200 mm of rain, overwhelming the region's infrastructure and natural drainage systems.

Kamareddy District: A district submerged

In Kamareddy, six mandals, Kamareddy, Bibipet, Rajampet, Nizamsagar, Yellareddy, and Machareddy, bore the brunt of the floods. The district administration, coordinating with disaster response teams, has rescued over 500 people from inundated areas. In daring operations, SDRF teams saved nine workers trapped at Boggu Gudise and five individuals in Gunkal village.

The human cost was tragically underscored by one confirmed death due to a wall collapse. In a separate incident, a car with two occupants was swept away in the Neelakatta stream in Domakonda, and searches are ongoing.

The infrastructure damage is severe. Due to water overflowing on the track in the Bhiknur-Talmadla section and the Akanpet-Medak section of Hyderabad South Central Railway (SCR), some trains were diverted or partially cancelled some trains. 

Critical national connectivity was hit as NH44 (the Nagpur Highway) caved in at three locations, forcing Cyberabad Traffic Police to issue a traffic diversion notification for both heavy and light vehicles via Siddipet and Karimnagar.

Rescue efforts are focused on the worst-affected residential areas in Kamareddy town, including the Housing Board Colony and GR Colony, where essential supplies are being airdropped or boated in. Evacuations are also underway for villages near the overflowing Nizamsagar and Pocharam dams.

Medak District: The Army joins relief efforts

The situation in Medak is equally dire, with Haveli Ghanpur, Papannapet, Ramayampet, Shankarampet (A), and Nizampet identified as the worst-hit mandals. The scale of the disaster necessitated the deployment of approximately 150 Army personnel from the TASA unit in Hyderabad, working alongside 80 SDRF personnel.

Floodwaters have overtopped 47 roads, 23 culverts, and 15 bridges, all of which have been barricaded. A major concern is the breaching of 16 irrigation tanks, putting downstream villages on high alert.

Rescue teams have been tirelessly pulling people to safety. Successful operations included the rescue of five people from an Animal Birth Control Centre at a dump yard, a man stranded on top of his car in Nakkavagu, and 11 people from Wadi Bridge. In a significant effort, 350 students from a women's degree college and 80 from a girls' hostel in Ramayampet were evacuated. Over 53 families from low-lying areas have been moved to rehabilitation centres. As a precaution, 375 residents of Sardhana Village, threatened by flows from the Pocharam project, were also relocated.

Tragically, two individuals from Rajpet Village, Bestha Sathyam and Yada Goud, were swept away while attempting to cross the Rajpet bridge. SDRF teams reached the spot, but the two remain missing. Preliminary assessments indicate extensive damage to agriculture and over 85 major road locations. Train services on the Akkanpet-Ramayampet line have been cancelled due to track damage at Shamnapur.

Ongoing Response

With 15 SDRF and 5 NDRF teams working round the clock, the focus remains on search and rescue, providing immediate relief to those in shelters, and assessing the full extent of the damage. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy monitored the situation from time to time and alerted all senior officials and concerned district collectors.

The Revenue Minister Poguleti Srinivas Reddy, along with the Minister of Industries and IT D. Sridhar Babu and the Minister of Agriculture, Tummala Nageshwararao, held a teleconference with these three districts and was assured of all possible assistance from the state administration.