HYDERABAD, Oct 30: The remnants of Severe Cyclonic Storm Montha, which crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast late Tuesday night, unleashed torrential rains across several districts of Telangana on Wednesday, flooding vast areas, crippling transport networks, and throwing daily life out of gear.
Extremely heavy rainfall since early morning inundated low-lying localities, submerged roads and railway tracks, and caused widespread crop damage. Overflowing rivulets, lakes, and streams snapped road connectivity in multiple areas, while key railway lines were flooded, disrupting major routes.
The Warangal and Dornakal railway stations were among the worst affected, with tracks submerged under floodwaters, forcing the South Central Railway to cancel and divert several trains.
Districts including Warangal, Hanamkonda, Mulugu, Mahabubabad, Jayashankar Bhupalapally, Nalgonda, Siddipet, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Sircilla, and Nagarkurnool recorded extremely heavy rainfall.
According to the Telangana Development Planning Society, Bheemdevarapalle in Hanamkonda received the state’s highest rainfall of 41.9 cm between 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.. In Warangal district, Kallada recorded 36.7 cm, followed by Urus (34.3 cm) and Redlawada (33.9 cm).
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for Jangaon, Warangal, Hanamkonda, Mahabubabad, Siddipet, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Karimnagar, and Sircilla districts, while placing several others under orange alert.
After landfall, Cyclone Montha weakened into a deep depression over north Andhra Pradesh and adjoining regions of south Odisha, south Chhattisgarh, and northeast Telangana before further weakening over south Chhattisgarh.
In Warangal, authorities declared a holiday for all educational institutions as floodwaters inundated major roads and bus stations. The Vijayawada Intercity Express and East Coast Express were halted at Warangal station due to track flooding.
In Hanamkonda, the main bus station turned into a virtual lake as stormwater drains overflowed.
Tragic incidents were also reported from Khammam and Vikarabad districts. A DCM vehicle with its driver was swept away in the Nimmavagu stream near Janaram bridge in Konijarla mandal, while a man in Vikarabad district was rescued by locals after being swept away in the Kagna river.
In Nalgonda, emergency teams comprising police and local authorities rescued 500 students trapped at a tribal welfare residential school in Kommapalli village, Devarakonda mandal, after floodwaters from a nearby stream inundated the building.
Officials have advised residents in vulnerable areas to remain indoors and avoid travel as more heavy rainfall is expected in parts of northern Telangana through Thursday.