55 Evacuated As Hyderabad's Musi River Swells After Heavy Rainfall

At least 55 people from flood-prone localities in Hyderabad were evacuated as the inflow in the Musi River increased after heavy rainfall in the city. 

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) evacuated the people residing at Shivaji Bridge and Chaderghat after authorities were forced to open the gates of Hyderabad's twin reservoirs -- Himayatsagar and Osmansagar -- to release nearly 25,000 cusecs of water, leading to heavy inflows in the Musi.

The high-tech, fast-developing western parts of the city faced severe traffic congestion and localised flooding.

Key IT areas like Gachibowli, Hitech City, Madhapur, and Kondapur were heavily waterlogged, leaving commuters stuck in traffic for hours due to severe gridlock.

Floodwaters, especially from the overflowing Himayat Sagar reservoir, inundated the Outer Ring Road (ORR) service roads, with Exit 17 on the ORR being a major choke point. The Cyberabad traffic police urged drivers to avoid the service road due to high water levels, disrupting travel to the city's outskirts.

The traffic police also issued a Work-from-Home (WFH) advisory to IT companies to reduce the pressure on these key transport arteries.

The historic heart of Hyderabad, with its old, crowded neighborhoods and narrow drainage systems, has been hit hard by heavy flooding.

Areas near Charminar and the Old City, such as Falaknuma, Malakpet, Bahadurpura, and Chandulal Baradari, saw severe waterlogging after short but intense spells of rain.

Roads in these areas became impassable due to knee-deep water, resulting in traffic police to set up diversions to manage the situation.

Major roads in the central zone, including Nampally, Khairatabad, Mehdipatnam, and Lakdikapul, frequently turn into pools of water, severely disrupting daily commutes and raising concerns over the aging civic infrastructure.

Over the past few weeks, heavy rainfall has caused several deaths across Hyderabad in rain-related incidents, mainly due to people being swept away by overflowing drains and flooded underpasses.

A 26-year-old man drowned in a flooded railway underpass at Balkampet area last week after heavy rainfall, police said. 

The Met Centre of IMD forecasts that heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely to occur at isolated places in Nirmal, Warangal, and Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri districts on September 27.

The State government has directed all emergency services-Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWSSB), and Disaster Response Force (DRF) teams-to remain on high alert to manage the compounded flood risk.