As much as rains bring joy, make everyone crave hot tea, savory pakoras (stuffed fritters) and what not, they are also capable of bringing destruction. Such kinds of disturbances have been witnessed by Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Gujarat over these past few days.
Incessant rainfall have been pounded these states, as citizens continue their struggle to get their day-to-day tasks completed. With the weather department issuing consistent alerts, governments, local administrations, and rescue teams have been engaged in actively managing the situation at hand.
Several districts of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been hit by rain-triggered floods. Restoration works have begun in Andhra's Vijayawada with an inter-ministerial team from the Central government visiting the flood-hit regions.
Meanwhile, political clashes have also become a part of the Gujarat floods as Congress party termed them to be a "man-made disaster" and sought generous compensation for the same.
ANDHRA PRADESH
Death Toll: Torrential rains and floods in Andhra Pradesh have claimed over 32 lives, officials said on Wednesday, adding that as many as 45,369 people have been evacuated to relief camps in the state. NTR district, which includes Vijayawada, reported 24 deaths, Guntur seven and Palnadu reported one.
What CM Naidu Said: Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday visited the flood-hit areas and held a meeting with bankers and insurance company representatives to request them to settle the damages claims, asking them to resolve the matters in a fortnight. Naidu also requested the banks to reschedule flood victims' loans as many of them have lost everything, resulting in them having to almost start from ground zero. Banks were requested by the CM to apply pressure on the victims of flood over EMIs and other such dues.
Flood Relief Donations: Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan donated Rs 5 crore for flood relief, of which Rs 1 lakh each will be given to 400 Panchayats. Meanwhile, the Ramoji Group, through the Eenadu Relief Fund, contributed Rs 5 crore to support the victims affected by the torrential rains and floods.
What's Happening Now: An inter-ministerial team led by Sanjeev Kumar Jindal from the Central government on Thursday began its visit to the flood-hit districts in Andhra Pradesh, news agency PTI reported. The team also visited the State Emergency Operations Centre in the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) office in Tadepalli. Civic body officials have been engaged in sanitation work and also restoring water supply, with Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner HM Dhyanachandra asking people to refrain from drinking the restored municipal tap water at the moment as it was not in a potable.
Weather Alert: A fresh low pressure area is likely to form over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal around September 5. The India Meteorological Department predicted light to moderate rainfall at many places of north coastal Andhra Pradesh from September 4 to 8 and also over South Coastal Andhra Pradesh till September 6. For Thursday, "isolated very heavy rainfall very likely over Coastal Andhra Pradesh and isolated heavy rainfall from September 6 to 8", the IMD bulletin said.
Flash Flood Risk: The IMD said that low to moderate flash flood risk is likely over few watersheds and neighbourhoods of following Met Sub-divisions during the next 24 hours. Specific areas in Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam are - East Godavari, Guntur, Visakhapatnam and West Godavari districts.
TELANGANA
Loss of Lives & Damages: As many as 16 persons lost their lives in rain and flood-related incidents across Telangana, as the state now is reeling under the impact of the monsoon fury.
Relief Funds: The Ramoji Group, via Eenadu Relief Fund, contributed Rs 5 crore to support the victims of heavy rains, while several other celebrities -- including Allu Arjun, Mahesh Babu and Chiranjeevi -- also did their part by making donations for the flood relief works.
Centre vs State: The Central government has pointed that the Telangana government did not submit a requisite information for the release of relief funds. This came in the backdrop of the state's Congress government seeking an immediate assistance of Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre for flood relief measures. The Centre said that over Rs 1,345 crore was available in the State Disaster Response Fund account as on April 1 this year for the measures during 2024-25. The Home Ministry urged the Telangana government to furnish the necessary information and endorse a copy to the Department of Expenditure, while the latter urged the Centre to declare the current spell of heavy rains and flood in the state as a national calamity and to release the immediate assistance.
Weather Alert: During the week, Telangana is likely to experience fairly widespread to widespread light to moderate rainfall, the IMD said. The weather office forecast "isolated heavy rainfall" over Telangana during September 5 to 8.
Flash Flood Risk: Telangana's B Kothagudem, Bhupalpally, Jagtial, Khammam, Mancherial, Nizamabad, Peddapalle and Rajanna Sircilla districts might also experience low to moderate flash flood risk over their watersheds and neighbourhoods during the next 24 hours, i,e., till September 6, the IMD said.
GUJARAT
Death Toll: Torrential downpours in Gujarat took as many as 49 lives in the last week of August, leaving several people on the cusp of starting their lives again. Officials said that over 37,000 people had been rescued by multiple rescue agencies including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Army. The teams successfully relocated 42,083 persons to safer locations.
Relief Teams: State Relief Commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey said that 17 NDRF teams, 27 teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), nine columns from the Army and additional teams of the Indian Air Force and the Coast Guard were deployed in Gujarat.
Congress Jibes At BJP: The Congress party termed the floods in Gujarat's Kutch to be "man-made disaster" and blamed the BJP government in the state for waterlogging in several parts of the region, demanding generous compensation for losses incurred by the people. State Congress chief Shaktisinh Gohil said that corruption and inaction of the local administration were responsible for the devastation in Kutch. "There is garbage everywhere, and carelessness in waste disposal led to waterlogging. This is a man-made disaster. Azad Chowk in the city was flooded up to 10 feet, as a result small traders suffered huge losses. There has been a huge damage in the timber market too," he claimed. We want the government to pay generous compensation to the people as well as farmers who have suffered losses, he added.
What Worsened The Flooding: According to a study done by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IIT-G), flooding in parts of Gujarat were caused by severe weather conditions and extensive urban development, which altered elevations and compromised drainage patterns. The study said that the recurrence of unusual weather events along India's western coast highlights the urgent need to re-evaluate urban planning and infrastructure resilience.
The IIT-G Study: "As rapid urbanisation continues to modify regional and local hydrology, placing greater strain on drainage systems, it is crucial to keep hydrology at the core of urban development strategies," the researchers' observations were cited by news agency PTI. They said that this is a classic example of concurrent extreme events, where multiple regions undergo severe weather at the same time. Such events complicates emergency response and evacuation efforts as resources become stretches across multiple affected areas. "This underscores the need for robust and scalable emergency response strategies that can handle the complexities of concurrent extreme events," it added.
Compensation To The Affected: As per norms, the kins of those deceased have already been paid Rs 4 lakh each as compensation, the State Relief Commissioner said, while a sum of Rs 1.78 crore has been disbursed to the owners of 2,618 livestock that perished. "An assistance worth Rs 3.67 crore has been distributed to the owners of 4,673 affected houses and huts," he added. "A cash relief of Rs 8.04 crore has been disbursed to over 1.69 lakh people in these districts so far. To date, Rs 20.07 crore have been disbursed as household and clothing assistance to 50,111 affected families in these districts," he said.
Weather Alert: The India Meteorological Department forecast isolated "very heavy rainfall" over the Gujarat region on September 5 and isolated "heavy rainfall" over Saurashtra and Kutch on September 5 and 6 and Gujarat region during September 5 to 8.
The IMD has been repeatedly, during such weather conditions, advised people to only step out when it is extremely necessary while also advising fishermen to venture into the sea off these regions' coasts.
