Rain wreaks havoc in Telangana-Andhra, 20 people died; 14 districts in the grip of floods

Torrential rains lashed Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for a second successive day, leaving at least 20 people dead in both states. The situation is pretty grim in the cases of floods that have affected several areas in both states. Life has been mislaid.

The rivers and streams are in spate, and the low-lying areas are submerged. Due to the submergence, many road and rail routes were blocked. The railways had to cancel 99 trains apart from diverting 54 trains.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday spoke to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy over the phone and assured all possible help.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to both the CMs to know the situation and said that the Centre will leave no stone unturned in providing assistance. Twenty-six NDRF teams are engaged in relief and rescue operations in both the states while 14 more teams will be sent.

Many parts of Telangana, including Hyderabad, received heavy rains on Sunday also. Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said nine people lost their lives in rain-related incidents in the state, while one is missing. Chief Minister Reddy reviewed the situation by holding a meeting with ministers, officials, and public representatives and gave necessary guidelines. The Met department has issued a red alert in Adilabad, Nizamabad, Rajanna Sircilla, Yadadri Bhuvangiri, Vikarabad, Sangareddy, Kamareddy, and Mahbubnagar districts of the state, forecasting heavy rains.

In Andhra Pradesh too, heavy rains in the last two days have disrupted normal life in many places, especially in Vijayawada and its surrounding areas. 17,000 affected people have been evacuated and shifted to safer places across the state. According to Chief Minister Chandrababu, 14 districts of the state are in the grip of floods and nine more people have lost their lives due to this while another is missing.

The central team formed to assess the damage caused by floods in GujaratThe Home Ministry has formed an inter-ministerial central team to assess the damage caused by rain and floods in Gujarat. This team will soon go to Gujarat under the leadership of the Executive Director of the National Disaster Management Institute.

Last week, 30 people lost their lives due to floods in many districts of Gujarat including Vadodara. The Home Ministry said that it is also in touch with other states including Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh affected by rain, and if needed, teams will be sent there too.

A total of 24 crocodiles were rescued from residential areas amid heavy rains in Vadodara, Gujarat recently. Due to heavy rains, the water level of the Vishwamitri river rose well above the danger mark and its water entered many areas of the city. Vadodara Range Forest Officer Karan Singh Rajput said that there are a total of 440 crocodiles in the river. Due to the flood, many of these crocodiles entered residential areas.