Twenty-six National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed for flood relief and rescue operations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, officials announced on Monday. Currently, 12 teams are already on the ground in the two states, with an additional 14 teams being dispatched to assist in the ongoing efforts.
Officials stated that out of the 14 additional NDRF teams being dispatched, eight are being airlifted from various locations across the country. These teams are equipped with inflatable boats, pole and tree cutters, and basic medical aid tools to support their rescue operations.
Torrential rains continued to batter Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for the second consecutive day, leading to at least 10 more fatalities on Sunday. The heavy downpour caused widespread flooding, waterlogging in several areas, and significant disruptions to road and rail traffic.
As many as 99 trains were cancelled, four trains were partially cancelled and 54 were diverted due to heavy rains and waterlogging over tracks at multiple locations on the South Central Railway network, an SCR official said. Rivers in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were in spate, prompting national and state disaster response forces to evacuate thousands of people from flooded areas to relief camps.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy and assured them of all possible help from the central government to deal with rains and floods.