There have been 19 deaths in Himachal alone- as the rain triggered flashfloods and landslides, causing extensive damage to infrastructure.
Chandigarh: Following three days of non-stop rain in many parts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana and flooding, the authorities have swung into action for relief work in the worst-hit places, a special report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says.
There have been 19 deaths in Himachal alone- as the rain triggered by flashfloods and landslides, causing extensive damage to infrastructure.
As the rain continues to batter north India, the Army has been put on alert. Schools in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have been closed
An early morning cloudburst triggered a major landslide in Solan’s Chewa village. Haryana CM Khattar cancelled all his pre-scheduled programmes for the day and summoned an emergency meeting of senior officials of various departments, including Home, Disaster Management and Urban Local Bodies.
In one of the toughest rescue operations , the NDRF and the home guards rescued 35 stranded people have been rescued in Mandi and Kullu The operation was led by NDRF team at Nagvain in Mandi district.
Villages in Jalandhar evacuated
Jalandhar: Water from the Sultej has overflowed in some villages of Phillaur, including Lasara, Meowal and Mao Sahib. Villages have been evacuated. Grounds of Phillaur Police Academy along the river also inundated. The embankment is being strengthened using spurs. Army teams have been called in.
Ludhiana remains inundated, rain takes break
Even as the incessant rain that had began on Saturday has taken a break this morning, all water bodies, especially Buddha Nullah and Sutlej, are still on the spate in Ludhiana district. While the low-lying areas in the city and its vicinity remain waterlogged, the fields and open spaces across the district remain marooned. Medium to heavy rainfall is expected during the day, the weather forecast has said.
Delhi breaks 41-year-old rainfall record, IMD issues yellow alert for Monday
The initial monsoon downpour wreaked havoc in both residential and commercial areas of Delhi on Saturday and Sunday while breaking a 41-year record, as the capital recorded 153 mm of rain in 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Sunday, the highest in a single day in July since 1982, said the India Meteorological Department. The meteorological office forecast generally cloudy sky with light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorm for Monday and the expected range for the maximum and minimum temperatures is around 31 and 24 degrees Celsius, respectively.
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.
Flash floods washed away roads in hilly areas, leaving people marooned, while authorities asked tourists to plan their visit after the weather improves.
Railway services have also been hit. The Northern Railways said it has cancelled around 17 trains and diverted around 12 others, while traffic has been suspended at four locations due to waterlogging.
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.
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).
Fourteen major landslides and 13 flash floods have been reported in the past 36 hours while over 700 roads have been closed, according to the Himachal Pradesh emergency operation centre.
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.
State Disaster Response Force and police officials said there were 11 people in the jeep. Five people have been rescued, while a search is on for three others, they said and added that three bodies have been recovered by rescue personnel.
However, there was some relief in Srinagar from heavy downpour and the yatra to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath resumed on Sunday from the Panjtarni and the Sheshnag base camps after remaining suspended for three days.
There were also reports of snowfall from high-altitude areas of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh, where a red alert has been issued for heavy rains.
Red alert has been issued for Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua and Samba districts along with lower catchment areas with reports of water level in rivers and streams crossing the danger mark.
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.
The IMD said the bountiful rain in many parts of India in the first eight days of July has bridged the rainfall deficit for the entire country. The cumulative rainfall in the monsoon season has reached 243.2 mm, which is two per cent above the normal of 239.1 mm.
However, there are large-scale regional variations in rainfall. While the eastern and northeastern region has recorded a deficiency of 17 per cent (375.3 mm against a normal of 454 mm), north India has witnessed 59 per cent excess rainfall (199.7 mm against a normal of 125.5 per cent), the latest IMD data showed.
Central India, where a large number of farmers rely on monsoon rains, has recorded 264.9 mm rainfall against a normal of 255.1 mm, an excess of four per cent. The rainfall deficiency in south India has dropped from 45 per cent to 23 per cent.
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