Man, daughter missing in Akeru stream; train track damaged in Mahabubabad  

Torrential rains cause havoc in Warangal district, leading to flooding, transportation disruptions, and distress among locals.

Torrential rains have wreaked havoc across the erstwhile Warangal district, leading to significant flooding, transportation disruptions, and distress among locals. The situation is particularly grim in Mahabubabad district, where a man and his daughter were reportedly swept away by floodwaters after Akeru vagu (stream) overflowed onto a bridge at Purushothamaiah Gudem village in Maripeda mandal on Sunday (September 1, 2024). 

Nunawat Motilal and his daughter, Nunawat Ashwini, residents of Gangaram Thanda in Khammam district, were on the way to Hyderabad to catch a flight from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport to Bengaluru. In a distressing phone call to their friends and family, the duo reported that their car had been submerged in the rapidly rising waters, with the flood reaching up to their necks.

The call was abruptly cut off, and their phones have since been unreachable, leaving their loved ones in a state of profound concern. The car has yet to be located. The heavy rainfall, which began on Saturday (August 31, 2024) night, has caused streams, rivulets and rivers to overflow, inundating numerous areas. In Ravirala village, Nellikuduru Mandal, floodwaters entered homes, forcing families to seek refuge on their rooftops, awaiting rescue. 

The extreme weather has also severely disrupted railway services. On Sunday (September 1, 2024), train services along the Secunderabad-Vijayawada route came to a complete standstill after heavy rains washed away railway tracks at multiple locations in Mahabubabad district.

The Machilipatnam Express, Simhapuri Express, and several other trains were halted at Mahabubabad railway station. At Tallapusapalli station in Kesamudram Mandal, more than ten feet of railway track was partially washed away, while in Initikanne, thirty feet of track was left suspended mid-air after the Peddamori cheruvu overflowed, eroding the track bed. 

Local police officials provided food, water, and biscuits to passengers stranded at the railway station. The region has experienced unprecedented rainfall, with Inuguruthy mandal in Mahabubabad district recording 43.80 cm of rain in about 23 hours.

Other areas have also seen extreme rainfall, including Nekkonda Mandal in the Warangal district with 43.55 cm, Nellikudur with 41.6 cm, and Chinnagudur with 42.8 cm. The heavy downpour has led to severe flooding in Mulugu district’s Eturunagaram agency area. Streams have overflowed, halting traffic between Eturunagaram and Warangal highway.