The heavens sent down as much as 8.1 cm of rain in Kanchanbagh, 8 cm in Bandlaguda, 7.8 cm in Bahadurpura, 7.6 cm in Charminar, and 6.9 cm in Nampally, which comprise a major part of the Old City of Hyderabad.
Published Apr 19, 2025 | 12:16 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 19, 2025 | 12:16 PM
Rains in Hyderabad. (HYDRAA/ X)
Synopsis: Gusty winds and sudden rains lashed Hyderabad and parts of Telangana on 18 April, causing widespread damage. Uprooted trees, blown transformers, traffic snarls, and power outages hit the city hard. North Telangana saw similar destruction, with livestock deaths, damaged homes, and soaked crops. The downpour overwhelmed drainage systems, leaving roads waterlogged and residents stranded, prompting massive cleanup and restoration efforts.
Gusty winds that scythed through Hyderabad on Friday, 18 April, evening came without warning. Though they did not last very long, they however left a trail of destruction and dislocation in their wake, not only in Hyderabad but elsewhere in Telangana.
Post noon, Hyderabad’s skyline suddenly became cloudy. It all started with mild drizzles in the afternoon, promising respite from the torrid heat that residents had been experiencing since morning. It did, but soon it became worse, with the intensity of rain and winds increasing. Waves of rain swept through the city, aided by powerful gales, causing serious disruption to normal life.
The gales that accompanied the rain were more harmful. The winds, like sharp-edged sheets, tore through the city like never before, blowing electric transformers, downing power lines, and uprooting trees in various localities. The most affected areas in Hyderabad were the Old City, SR Nagar, Borabanda, Jubilee Hills, Koti, Nampally, Himayatnagar, Vanasthalipuram, Begumpet, and so on.
A huge tree lay fallen for a long time at Red Hills near Lakdi-ka-pul after hitting a transformer, which blew up under its impact. Several areas in Asmangadh went without power for a long time, with feeders tripping one after the other. The Lower Tank Bund road was also affected by uprooted trees. The trees that fell on two electric poles bent them in groteque angles in Langer Houz.
Though help arrived immediately, it took long to restore normality. Home-hound people stuck at various places, eager to return home, stood waiting for the chaos to clear. Rain and wind buffeted the city at will for a few hours, hitting hard at the delicate water drainage infrastructure, which collapsed in no time.
The roads turned into cesspools as one looked on in dismay, with the speed of the swirling waters appearing to increase with the passage of time. Vehicles had to crawl bumper to bumper, while two-wheelers, which usually have an advantage in times of traffic snarls, did not have the luck, as many got stuck with water entering their engines.
The heavens sent down as much as 8.1 cm of rain in Kanchanbagh, 8 cm in Bandlaguda, 7.8 cm in Bahadurpura, 7.6 cm in Charminar, and 6.9 cm in Nampally, which comprise a major part of the Old City of Hyderabad.
The DRF teams tried to restore normality on instructions from Hyderabad in-charge Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, but it was no easy task for them either, as the rickety drainage system gave up the unequal battle with the elements.
After a great deal of effort, the teams drained out water to some extent and also removed the trees that had fallen across the roads in bizarre angles, clearing the way for traffic. At BRK Bhavan, several trees fell on cars parked underneath them. The worst-ever traffic snarl occurred at Begumpet, one of the arterial roads that connects Hyderabad with Secunderabad. The traffic at times came to a standstill, and when it moved, it was a crawl.
North Telangana districts too were affected by the cloudburst. In Kamareddy, several sheep died due to lightning strikes, while in several places, the wind pulled trees out and threw them at houses, causing damage to them. While in several mandals in the district too, the gales caused havoc, blowing away tin roofs of hosues and uprooting electric poles.
In Medak district, the damage due to thunderstorms was quite severe. Several poultry birds died when winds blew away the roof of a farm in Venkatapur while paddy at procurement centers was soaked in Kolcharam and Makkarajpet. Paddy crops in large tracts were damaged due to the rain in Ibrahimpur.
Mango orchards were also affected at a time when the harvesting season is nearing. In several orchards, mangoes were seen strewn all around after the winds blew across them.
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
