Trees bore the brunt of Friday’s rains as nearly 170 were downed by gushing winds which touched 100 kmph in some parts of the city.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) claimed that 197 trees were uprooted and five complaints of wires snapping were received. While weathermen said winds gusted up to 60 kmph, GHMC commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy stated that winds touched 100 kmph in Banjara Hills. Though brief, the winds wrecked substantial damage to trees in many areas, most noticeably on Raj Bhavan road where vehicles were stopped from entering the stretch before removal. Besides trees, hoardings were also ripped by winds at a few places including Jubilee Hills and at Panjagutta. That apart, teams of fire services, police and GHMC’s staff were pressed into service to provide relief measures.
Meanwhile, the water board informed that it has constituted 29 emergency response teams to tackle emergencies during the coming monsoon season. Power disruption was reported at nearly all locations after the rainfall began.
