Hyderabad, Aug 20 - Heavy rains lashed this Andhra Pradesh capital Thursday, inundating low-lying areas and throwing normal life out of gear.

The rains, which began in the early hours, caused severe inconvenience to people living in low-lying areas and to commuters.

Low lying areas in Panjagutta, Khairatabad, Lakdi ka pul, Erram Manzil, Mehdipatnam, Toli Chowki and Dilsukhnagar and several other neighbourhoods were flooded.

Water entered houses in low-lying areas in Nadeem Colony, Rajendernagar, Attapur, Shivajinagar, Prabhakarnagar, Imtiaznagar and other areas. While many people left the areas before water reached danger level, some others were seen sitting on roof tops, waiting for the water to recede.

Overflowing open drains added to people's woes. Vehicular traffic was thrown out of gear in several areas in the central part of the city as almost all the roads were waterlogged.