Heavy rains wreck havoc across north India; landslides, flash floods hit Himalayan states

Rain lashed parts of northern India on Tuesday, triggering landslides and flash floods in the Himalayan states while bringing national capital Delhi to a standstill. The IMD has forecast above-normal rainfall over northwest and central India in the next 4-5 days, fairly widespread rainfall in eastern India in the next 5-6 days, and isolated to scattered rainfall across Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura, and the southern peninsula. The Himalayan states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh were among the worst affected. In Himachal, moderate to heavy rains caused landslides in Chamba district, where about a dozen vehicles and many houses were buried in debris. However, no loss of life has been reported so far. According to the state emergency operation centre (SEOC), a total of 108 roads were closed due to landslides and flash floods triggered by torrential rains on Monday evening, while 38 water supply schemes and nine transformers have been disrupted.

The Met office said there was a moderate flash-flood threat in a few watersheds and neighbourhoods in seven out of 12 districts in the state, namely Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur and Solan, in the next 24 hours. An orange warning was issued for heavy to very heavy rains in isolated areas of four to five districts of Himachal Pradesh till July 30 and on August 3.

In Uttarakhand, heavy rains continued to batter the hilly state. Officials suspended the Char Dham Yatra for two days due to landslides blocking pilgrimage routes and a heavy rain alert, an officer said. Garhwal Commissioner Anand Swaroop said the Char Dham Yatra has been suspended for Tuesday and Wednesday for the safety of pilgrims. The yatra routes have been blocked at several locations due to landslides and a heavy rainfall alert has also been issued by the weather department, he said. The pilgrimage will resume once the weather conditions improve and the routes are deemed safe, the officer said.

The national capital, Delhi, recorded its coldest July day in three years on Tuesday as heavy rains caused waterlogging and traffic snarls. Knee-deep water in markets, flooded roads, and bumper-to-bumper traffic brought Delhi to a crawl. The downpour made Tuesday the rainiest day of the year so far and the coldest July day in three years. The maximum temperature settled at 29 degrees Celsius, 9.1 degrees lower than the previous day and the lowest recorded in July since July 8, 2023, when it stood at 28.7 degrees Celsius, according to the IMD.

In neighbouring Noida, heavy rainfall led to waterlogging in several parts of the city, affecting roads and low-lying areas. Waterlogging was reported from Sector 126, Burari and other localities. A roadside divider collapsed near the Sector 16 Metro station in Noida following heavy rainfall on Tuesday, leaving a motorcyclist with minor injuries, police said. Rains also lashed many places in Punjab and Haryana, bringing relief from the ongoing hot weather in the two states. This triggered waterlogging at many places, especially low lying areas, causing traffic snarls. Though Rajasthan did not receive as much rainfall on Tuesday, the Met office has predicted heavy rainfall at several places over the next two days due to a newly formed cyclonic circulation.

According to the Met department, the cyclonic circulation is currently positioned over southwest Rajasthan. In the eastern Odisha, four districts were facing an imminent flood threat as at least three rivers swelled to the brink of the danger mark following heavy rains induced by a deep depression, officials said. The state government kept Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), fire service department and other agencies on standby to meet any exigency, and directed officials to shift people from the vulnerable areas to safety. Odisha's northern region has been witnessing heavy rains for the past three days. In the coastal area, Balasore town recorded 246.6 mm of rainfall during the period, followed by Nilgiri (239 mm), Jaipur (236.8 mm), Remuna (222 mm) and Govindpur (213.8 mm), the IMD said.