Heavy rain lashes Hyderabad, traffic crawls, roads turn into streams

Hyderabad: Heavy rain battered the city from late Thursday night through to Friday, leaving low-lying areas waterlogged, roads submerged and traffic congestion across the city.Neighbourhoods such as Alwal, Malkajgiri, Qutbullapur and Gajularamaram were severely affected, while vehicles could only inch forward through flooded streets at major junctions such as Masab Tank, Lakdikapul and Khairatabad."Our street is completely underwater. I had to wade through knee-deep water just to get my children to the school bus," said Ramesh Kumar, an Ahmed Nagar resident.Saira Begum, from Toli Chowki, added: "We have not seen such flooding in years. The water entered our homes, and we had to move our belongings upstairs."Power outages & traffic snarlsFurthermore, power outages were widely reported across the suburbs of Uppal, LB Nagar and Rangareddy, leaving thousands without electricity for several hours.Commuters faced long delays as flooding turned several main roads into virtual rivers. "I was stuck on the road for more than two hours; buses and autos were barely moving. It's total chaos," said Krishna N, who commutes daily from Mehdipatnam to Banjara Hills."We have been dealing with waterlogging for hours. The drains are overflowing and some houses have already flooded," said Sindhu Sree from Bowenpally. "The rain is relentless. Our kids couldn't even go to school today, and the roads are blocked everywhere."Traffic disruption remains widespread as emergency teams struggle to clear the waterlogged streets. Many commuters have expressed frustration over the delays. "Even walking is difficult; the water is flowing like small rivers on the roads," said Namratha V, a bank official from Banjara Hills.With more rainfall expected over the next 48 hours, residents across Hyderabad and Telangana are bracing themselves for further disruption. Those living in low-lying neighbourhoods have been advised to stay indoors, and many have moved their belongings to higher floors in anticipation of rising water levels.Meanwhile, the authorities opened the gates of the Himayatsagar and Osmansagar reservoirs to release excess water into the Musi River, prompting warnings for people living on the riverbanks.IMD FORECASTIMD has issued orange alert for Saturday, warning of continued heavy to very heavy rainfall in multiple districts.Isolated areas in Nirmal, Nizamabad, Mahabubabad, Warangal, Hanamkonda, Jangaon, Siddipet, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Vikarabad, Sangareddy, Medak, Kamareddy, Mahabubnagar, Nagarkurnool, Wanaparthy, Narayanpet, and Jogulamba Gadwal are expected to witness intense showersHeavy rainfall is also forecast for Adilabad, Komuram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Jagtial, Rajanna Sirisilla, Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Jayashankar Bhupalapally, Mulugu, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Khammam, Nalgonda, Suryapet, Rangareddy, Hyderabad, and Medchal-MalkajigiriThunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph are expected across all districts