An alert was sounded in a few north and south Telangana districts on Tuesday as the Met office forecast heavy rains due to the impact of the severe cyclonic storm Michaung in the Bay of Bengal which crossed the coast into neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a ‘Red Alert’ in Mulugu and Bhadradri Kothagudem districts and an ‘Orange Alert’ in Suryapet, Mahabubabad, Warangal and Hanamkonda districts.
A ‘Yellow Alert’ has been issued in Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Nalgonda, Jangaon, Ydadri, Bhupalapally and Nagarkurnool districts.
These districts have been experiencing moderate to heavy rains since Monday night
One NDRF team each is being sent to Bhadradri Kothagudem and Mulugu districts, officials said.
Hyderabad and its suburbs have been receiving rains since the early hours of Tuesday. Water logging on the roads at a few places affected flow of vehicular traffic.
In the Khammam district, rains were lashing places like Bhadrachalam, Aswaraopet, Yellandu, Allapalli and Sathupalli. The downpour affected mining operations in some open cast mines of Singareni Collieries Company Limited.
Meanwhile, Rahul Bojja, Secretary, Disaster Management, held a teleconference with the District Collectors and reviewed the situation with the District Collectors of Bhadradri Kothagudem, Mulugu, Hanamkonda, Warangal, Jangaon, Mahabubabad and Suryapet.
He asked them to be on alert in view of the heavy rains forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday. The official also asked the District Collectors to take action as per the protocol for heavy rains and floods.
The District Collectors were asked to take steps to prevent breach of the water tanks which are already filled to the brim.
The departments of irrigation, disaster management, roads and buildings, panchayat raj and revenue have been directed to be on alert.
Rahul Bojja wanted the officials to take all precautions at causeways and low-lying areas vulnerable to floods.
The District Collectors were directed to identify relief camps for shifting people from low-lying areas, if necessary.