Hyderabad on high alert, heavy rains to hit Telangana in next 2 days due to Cyclone Gulab:

The India Meteorological department (IMD) on Sunday said that the Gulab cyclone, which turned into a severe storm in the Bay of Bengal, is expected to bring very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall for the next 48-hours in the state between September 27- September 28. The IMD has issued a high alert for Hyderabad.

Cyclone Gulab has made landfall in coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, IMD tweeted. As per latest meteorological observations available at 6.30 p.m. on Sunday, cloud bands have touched coastal regions and thus the landfall process has commenced over north coastal Andhra Pradesh and adjoining south coastal Odisha. Those will cross coasts between Kalingapatnam and Gopalpur, about 25 kilometre north of Kalingapatnam, during the next three hours.

Under the cyclonic influence in Telangana, light to moderate rain or thundershowers are expected at many places with heavy to very heavy falls at isolated places for next two days i.e., September 27 and September 28. Thereafter, light to moderate rain or thundershowers are expected at many places with heavy rain at isolated places for September 29.

The Telangana State Development Planning Society (TSDPS) on Sunday also said that under the cyclonic influence, very heavy to extremely heavy rain is expected at Sangareddy, Medak, Rangareddy, Siddipet, Nalgonda, Jangaon, Mahabubabad, Warangal Urban, Warangal Rural, Suryapet, Khammam and Bhadradri Kothagudem districts for the next 48-hours.

Heavy to very heavy rains are expected over Nirmal, Nizamabad, Rajanna Sircilla, Karimnagar, Siddipet, Kamareddy, Sangareddy, Medak, Rangareddy, Siddipet, Nalgonda, Jangaon, Mahabubabad, Warangal Urban, Warangal Rural, Suryapet, Khammam and Bhadradri Kothagudem. Moderate to heavy rain is expected over Mulugu district, light to moderate is expected at all over the state, according to weather forecasts.

Maximum temperatures are expected to be in the range of 30 degree to 33 degree Celsius, while the minimum temperatures to be in the range of 20



degree to 23 degree Celsius, TSDPS said.

In response to the IMD’s very heavy rainfall warning, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is also gearing up to tackle any crisis-like situation that may emerge. Vishwajit Kampati, the civic body’s director of the Enforcement, Vigilance and Disaster Management issued the following instructions to staff on Sunday:

Alert Monsoon Emergency (MET) & station them at possible inundation locations based on previous experiences. Ensure that MET personnel are on field & respond on call.

Ensure availability of boats, pumps and other necessary equipment & machinery to tackle flood emergency based on last year’s experiences.

Pre-emptively ask all teams to check regular choke points and clear catch pits in those areas.

 Week offs and leaves of officers may be limited for next one week to ensure sufficient personnel are available at all times.

Prepare relief and rehabilitation centre’s for the event that citizens needs to be shifted to and ensure availability of basic amenities in them.

Ensure the availability of transport facility to evacuate/shift the population from possible inundation areas.

Prepare protocol for alerting the residents of possible inundation and low-lying areas for evacuation at short notice.

All heads of departments (HOD) of GHMC and the zonal commissioners have also been requested to consider the above on high priority and initiate necessary measures to tackle the possible emergencies that may arise due to heavy rains.

Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar on Sunday also directed district collectors to be on high alert in view of heavy rains forecast in the next 48 hours. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has also deployed Disaster Response Force (DRF) teams to clear rain related complaints following the heavy rains that lashed the city on late Saturday.