Shillong, July 9: At least nine people have lost their lives in the past two days as heavy rain wreaked havoc in various parts of north India. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted additional showers in the coming days.
The IMD has issued warnings of heavy to extremely heavy rain for regions including Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir.
NDTV reported that a western disturbance prevailing over northern India has triggered intense rainfall, marking the season’s first heavy rain in Delhi. The capital city received 153 mm of rainfall in 24 hours, the highest recorded for a single day in July since 1982. Waterlogging led to traffic congestion in several areas of Delhi, and heavy rain and power outages affected parts of Gurugram as well.
Tragically, a 58-year-old woman in Delhi lost her life when her flat’s ceiling collapsed. In Rajasthan, four individuals died in rain-related incidents. In Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, a woman and her six-year-old daughter were killed after their house collapsed due to the heavy rain. In Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, two Army soldiers drowned.
The IMD has issued predictions of very heavy rainfall in multiple districts of Rajasthan, including Rajsamand, Jalore, Pali, Ajmer, Alwar, Banswara, Bharatpur, Bhilwara, Bundi, Chittorgarh, Dausa, Dhaulpur, Jaipur, and Kota.
Furthermore, the annual Amarnath Yatra has been suspended for the third consecutive day due to continuous rain and landslides. Around 3,000 vehicles are stranded along the Srinagar-Jammu Highway, where a section of the road caved in recently.
In the southern regions, Kerala and Karnataka have also been pounded by incessant rain. The IMD has issued a “yellow” alert in four districts of Kerala, namely Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod.
The heavy rain and its aftermath have disrupted daily life, causing loss of life, traffic congestion, and transportation disruptions across several regions of north and south India.