A deafening thunderstorm accompanied by sharp lightning and torrential rain swept through western Hyderabad in the early hours of Thursday, leaving the city waterlogged and residents scrambling.
Beginning around 3 a.m., the downpour rapidly flooded low-lying areas across Gachibowli, Serilingampally, Lingampally, and Nallagandla. The intensity of the storm prompted a flurry of social media updates from startled residents. “Lightning strikes so bright, they woke me up,” one post read, while another described the storm as “non-stop explosions.”
By 4:15 a.m., the worst had passed, but waterlogged streets remained. In Serilingampally, the stretch from the Revenue Office to BHEL resembled a stream, forcing two-wheeler riders to trudge through calf-deep water. Vehicles attempting to reach Doyens Colony via the Road Under Bridge at Lingampally faced gridlock due to flooding. Arterial roads in Gachibowli also suffered from heavy congestion.
Aditya Sharma, an IT employee based in Gachibowli, shared how the weather disrupted his morning routine. “My cook texted to cancel due to waterlogging. I had to go to work without breakfast,” he said. Fortunately, his commute via Miyapur-Gachibowli was smoother by midday.
The timing of the storm couldn’t have been worse, coinciding with the reopening day of schools. Flooded lanes and traffic diversions caused chaos as parents and school buses tried to navigate narrow shortcuts, turning key junctions into bottlenecks.
Cyberabad traffic police confirmed that National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were stationed in flood-prone areas and remain on 24/7 alert.
While those who worked from home or left late managed to avoid the brunt, early morning commuters bore the full impact of Hyderabad’s latest monsoon disruption.
