IMD Hyderabad issues red alert, warns of extremely heavy rain, gusty winds in these areas

The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a red alert warning of extremely heavy rain in a number of districts in the Eastern and North-Eastern districts of Telangana for the next three days. The bulletin issued by the Hyderabad branch of the weather forecaster has warned of heavy to extremely heavy rains in several districts including Bhadradri Kothagudem, Mulugu, Jagtial, Kumurambheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Peddapally and Jayashankar Bhupalpally among others, the Indian Express reported.

In addition to the red alert in select districts of the state, the IMD has also said that the whole state is likely to receive light to moderate rainfall during the next three days. An Orange alert has also been issued by the forecaster for a few districts including Adilabad, Mahbubabad, Siddipet, Kamareddy, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Rajanna Sircilla, Karimnagar, Khammam, Warangal and Hanamkonda districts. The rainfall-like conditions will prevail in the state till July 24, the forecast added.

So far as the intensity of rainfall goes, K Nagarathna, director of the IMD Hyderabad said that the districts which have received the Red alert might receive as much as 20 cm of rainfall in the next three days. Nagaratha also warned that rivers and waterbodies in the state are already at their full discharge and more rainfall can create flood like conditions in some areas. She also added that fast-paced winds might also accompany heavy rainfall at few places in the North and North Eastern parts of the state.

The South-West monsoon after a delayed start has picked up pace from the beginning of July causing rainfall in most parts of the country. After initial hiccups, the sowing of Kharif crops also picked up along with the spread of the monsoon. A large number of farmers in the country who do not have irrigated farms rely on the crucial SW monsoon rains for a rich bountiful harvest.