NEW DELHI— Torrential rains pounded several parts of north India on Sunday with 18 people killed in landslides and other rain-related incidents, while most rivers, including the Yamuna in Delhi, were in spate. In cities and towns across the region, many roads and residential areas were submerged in knee-deep water with the civic system unable to hold on in the face of record rains.
Frightening images of the chaos unleashed by the rains -- vehicles floating like paper boats on inundated roads, muddy waters gushing into residential areas, temples and other structures submerged on the banks by the swollen rivers and land cave-ins -- were shared online by people from Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi, among other places.
Heavy downpour warnings have been issued for certain areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, while in Delhi, which recorded its highest rainfall in a single day in July since 1982, authorities have cautioned over rising water level of the Yamuna.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]While Delhi received 153 mm of rain in 24 hours ending 8:30 on Sunday, Chandigarh and Ambala in Haryana reported record rainfall of 322.2 mm and 224.1 mm respectively, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
In three separate incidents of landslides in Himachal Pradesh, where a red alert of extremely heavy rains has been issued for seven districts, five people were killed. In neighbouring Uttarakhand, three pilgrims drowned in the Ganga after their jeep fell into the river amid a landslide near Gular on the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway.
In the Kashipur area of the state, two houses collapsed killing a couple and injuring their granddaughter. Two persons were also killed in Jammu and Kashmir after a landslide hit a passenger bus in Doda district.
Bodies of two soldiers, who were swept away by flash floods while crossing the Dogra Nallah on Saturday, were recovered in Poonch district of the Union Territory.
In hill states, flash floods stranded many with about 200 people marooned in Chandratal in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul and Spiti, and a part of the Chandigarh-Manali highway washed away by the surging waters of the Beas river.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]The Punjab government has directed ministers, deputy commissioners, senior superintendents of police and other officials concerned to visit the affected areas and provide the required assistance to people.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]Heavy rainfall led to severe waterlogging and traffic congestion in several parts of Gurugram in the state with the administration advising corporate houses to work from home on Monday and schools to announce a holiday.
In Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that all schools will remain closed on Monday in view of the incessant rain in the national capital. Waterlogging led to traffic woes with people wading through inundated roads, vehicles getting stuck and underpasses flooded.
Widespread rainfall was also reported in Uttar Pradesh where a 10-year-old girl died on Sunday when a tree branch fell on the tin shed of her house in Kaushambi following rains. In Muzaffarnagar, a woman and her six-year-old daughter were killed after the roof of their house collapsed due to heavy rain.
On Saturday, two people were killed and three injured in separate incidents of lightning strike in Ballia.
In Rajasthan, a few areas received heavy to very heavy rains while moderate to heavy rainfall occurred in many areas.
The Northern Railways has cancelled around 17 trains and diverted around 12 others as heavy rains pounded several parts of the region. In a statement, a Northern Railways spokesperson said traffic has been suspended at four locations due to waterlogging. These include sections between Noganwan (Ambala)-New Morinda, between Nangal Dam and Anandpur Sahib and between Kiratpur Sahib and Bharatgarh.
“Strict watch is being kept to run trains from the Delhi area safely because of non-stop heavy rains. Eight pumps are being run at the Delhi-Sabzi Mandi area and the station’s trainable area to pump water out of tracks. Trains running in the Delhi area are still normal,” CPRO Northern Railway Deepak Kumar said.
The cancelled trains include Firozpur Cantt Express, Amritsar Super Fast Express, Chandigarh Intercity Express and Chandigarh to Amritsar Junction Express. Those which have been diverted include Mumbai Central to Amritsar Express, Amritsar Express, Daulatpur Chowk Express.