Thunderstorm leaves twin cities flooded

HYDERABAD: A thunderstorm lashed Hyderabad and Secunderabad on Friday evening piling more Monsoon misery and causing utter traffic chaos on the roads. The downpour, one of the heaviest that the twin cities witnessed this season, lasted for well over an hour, making residents running for cover.

The heavy rain brought instant deluge as many parts in the city were seen inundated in knee-deep water. Traffic jams were witnessed all across the twin cities in a cascading effect as vehicular movement was severely crippled by the unprecedented rain.

The downpour was severe in several parts of the city including Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills, Film Nagar, Manikonda, Sheikpet, Tollichowki, Rayadurgam and Gachibowli. The rain gods spared none as most of the residential colonies and slums alike were submerged in Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

While rainwater entered houses in many of these places, two-wheelers and push carts were seen being swept away by strong water currents amidst the heavy rains.

By the time the rain receded, it unfolded yet another nightmare in the form of heavy traffic congestions on the city roads. With all the vehicles -- two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers -- coming on to the roads at once, traffic snarls were witnessed across the twin cities.

Waterlogging played its part in compounding the woes of the commuters as there was little room for the vehicles to move. Traffic between LB Nagar and Abdullapurmet was severely affected due to knee-deep water in the streets at Bhagyalatha, Panama Junctions and Hayathnagar.

Vehicles were seen stranded over a long stretch at the major junctions like Panjagutta, Ameerpet, SR Nagar, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Begumpet, Secunderabad, Lakdi-ka-pool and Khairathabad.

It prompted the traffic police to issue an instant appeal to vehicle users to postpone their road trip by at least one hour.

With the Met department predicting more rains in the next days, the residents are only preparing for the worst.