MULUGU: A 40-year-old man was swept away in a swollen stream in Mulugu district as Telangana recorded its heaviest spell of monsoon rainfall this season on July 29 and 30. Torrential rain also disrupted coal production, triggered heavy inflows into major reservoirs and prompted the India Meteorological Department ( IMD) to issue red alerts for several districts.
Man swept away while bathing in Jampannavagu
The victim, identified as Timmaiah, a car driver from Ghatkesar, had travelled to Medaram after being hired to drive devotees. He reportedly entered the Jampannavagu stream for a bath before visiting the temple when he was swept away by the strong current.
Authorities launched a search operation to trace him.
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Rain disrupts coal production and raises reservoir inflows
Heavy rainwater inundated Singareni Collieries open-cast mines in Mancherial and Kumuram Bheem Asifabad districts, disrupting coal production. According to reports, around 29,000 tonnes of coal production was affected on Wednesday.
In Jayashankar Bhupalpally district, operations at the Kakatiya Opencast-2 and Kakatiya Opencast-3 mines were also hit, affecting another 16,000 tonnes of coal production.
Heavy inflows were reported into the Sammakka Sagar Project, where inflows reached 2,37,300 cusecs while outflows stood at 2,34,994 cusecs.
At the Medigadda Barrage in Ambatipalli village of Mahadevpur mandal, inflows touched 81,060 cusecs. Authorities lifted all 85 gates to release an equal volume of water downstream.
Telangana records season's heaviest rainfall
July 29 and 30 recorded the state's heaviest rainfall this monsoon, with widespread flooding across northern and eastern Telangana. Several places received between 130 mm and 200 mm of rain.
Bejjur in Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district recorded the highest rainfall at 188 mm. In Hyderabad, Chandulal Baradari received the city's highest rainfall at 38.8 mm.
The recent rains reduced Telangana's overall rainfall deficiency from 33 per cent, recorded about two weeks earlier, to 10 per cent by Thursday morning, according to the IMD.
However, rainfall remains below normal in 13 of the state's 33 districts. Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district continues to report the highest deficiency at 65 per cent, while Hyderabad also remains below its seasonal average.
IMD issues red alert for five districts
The IMD issued a red alert for isolated places in Adilabad, Kumuram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Nirmal and Jagtial districts, forecasting very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall accompanied by strong surface winds between 13.00 IST on Thursday and 08.30 IST on July 31.
The weather office also forecast light to moderate rain or thundershowers across most parts of Telangana during the period.
A red alert signifies the likelihood of extremely heavy rainfall exceeding 204 mm within 24 hours.