Seven dead as heavy rains batter Hyderabad

At least seven people were killed as heavy rains battered Hyderabad yesterday, officials said.The downpour brought life in the city and the outskirts to a standstill. Low-lying areas were inundated while roads were flooded, bringing traffic to a halt. The heavy rains, which began around 7am and continued till afternoon, claimed seven lives. Four children were among the dead in incidents of wall or house collapse. Two of the children were killed along with their parents when a boundary wall of a building fell on their hut in Ramanthapur area.In another incident in Bholakpur, a woman and her two daughters were killed when the roof of their house collapsed. Greater Hyderabad mayor B Rammohan said about 10cm rainfall was received in parts of the city and the outskirts, the highest in 15 years.Water entered residential areas in several pockets, forcing people to shift to safer places. People living in low-lying areas and abutting open drains complained of damage to household articles.Heavy rains pounded almost all parts of Hyderabad, its twin city Secunderabad, IT hub Cyberabad and the outskirts.Within no time, all the main roads were flooded with manholes and open drains overflowing. Commuters including school going children had a tough time.Meanwhile heavy downpours and thunderstorms brought life in New Delhi to a grinding halt yesterday as hundreds of thousands of commuters — and the US secretary of state — were left stranded on waterlogged roads.Early morning torrential rains inundated large swathes of New Delhi and its surrounding areas, leaving motorists stuck in massive traffic jams, including the motorcade of top US official John Kerry.“I don’t know how you all got here, you must have needed boats to get here,” Kerry told students at a townhall meeting after arriving an hour late due to the traffic chaos.