Uttarakhand braces for more rain, IMD issues red alert in parts of Maharashtra
Monsoon mayhem has so far claimed the lives of more than 150 people across India, with 125 deaths reported in Himachal Pradesh alone.
Where flash floods, cloudbursts and landslides have added to the fury. The state has suffered losses of Rs 4,691 crore, while 682 roads are still blocked.
More so, the local meteorological office has issued a yellow alert and predicted heavy rains at isolated places in the state till July 22.
On Tuesday, three people were killed after their car fell into a stream after a portion of a road caved in the Nankneri area of Dharamshala.
In the Indora sub-division of Kangra district, operations to rescue 55 people, including children, went on for nine hours, ending around 5 am on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday urged the state government to speed up road clearance operations in apple and other fruit-growing areas to save the growers from losses.
Even after 10 days of the calamity, relief has not reached many places and people are facing great hardship due to lack of water, power, communication and medical facilities, the chief minister said in a statement.
RAIN CONTINUES IN UTTARAKHAND
In Uttarakhand, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a yellow alert, warning of heavy rainfall/ thunderstorms accompanied with intense rainfall at isolated places on Wednesday in all 13 districts. The weather department also issued an orange alert for Friday (July 21), urging people to refrain from going near rivulets, rivers and rain drains.
Amid incessant rains in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday reached the State Disaster Control Room to take stock of the situation. He also directed officials to remain on alert mode.
Several roads, including national highways, were closed due to landslides due to incessant rains in the state.
In view of the rise in the water level of the Alaknanda river – a tributary of Ganga – about 3,000 cumecs of additional water was released from the dam of the GVK hydroelectric project at Srinagar in Pauri district.
The State Emergency Operation Center has directed the district magistrates of Pauri, Tehri, Haridwar and Dehradun to exercise caution in their respective areas due to the release of water. In Haridwar, Rishikesh and other places, people are being urged to stay away from the river banks and to take care of their safety.
Many areas adjacent to the River Ganga in Haridwar are already facing flood-like situations. The administration is on alert in view of a further rise in the water level of the Ganga.
During heavy rains on the Rishikesh-Gangotri National Highway in Uttarkashi district, a parked tempo overturned and fell under the road after debris came rolling down from a mountain near the dam at the Maneri Bhali project. The tempo driver saved his life by jumping out of the vehicle.
The Rishikesh-Yamunotri National Highway was also blocked due to landslides near Jhar Jhar Guard.
Badrinath National Highway was closed at Chhinka, Bajpur, Pipalkoti and Nandprayag due to debris on the roads after heavy rains in the Chamoli district.
Karnprayag-Jauljibi National Highway was also blocked for several hours at Harmani and Chamoli-Kund National Highway near Chopta. Both roads were opened later.
Due to the rise in water in the River Mokh in Tehsil Nandanagar, some residential buildings of Saira village located on the banks of the river have also come under threat.
YAMUNA WATER LEVEL RECEDES, BUT RAIN CONTINUES IN DELHI
In Delhi, the Yamuna water level crossed the danger mark at 7 am Wednesday with 205.35 MTR water level. At 8 am today, the water level in the river was at 205.48 MTR. Meanwhile, rains lashed several parts of the national capital on Tuesday, which flooded parts of the city.
Traffic movement was affected in many areas of the city due to waterlogging following rainfall on Tuesday.
The water level of the Yamuna in Delhi on Tuesday followed a downward trend and dropped below the danger mark of 205.33 metres by 8 pm, the Central Water Commission’s data showed.
The river has been receding gradually after peaking at 208.66 metres on Thursday. However, a minor fluctuation in the water level cannot be ruled out due to rain in the upper reaches.
Parts of Delhi have been grappling with waterlogging and flooding issues for a week now.
Initially, a downpour caused intense waterlogging on July 8 and 9, with the city receiving 125 per cent of its monthly rainfall quota in just two days.
Subsequently, heavy rains in the upper catchment areas, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Haryana, led to the Yamuna swelling to record levels.
On Thursday, the river breached embankments and penetrated deeper into the city than it has in over four decades.
Friday marked a turning point as the raging Yamuna and the resulting backflow of foul-smelling water from drains spilt into prominent locations such as the Supreme Court, Raj Ghat, and the bustling intersection at ITO.
Prior to the misery on Friday, the river water had already reached the rear ramparts of the Red Fort and inundated one of the city’s major bus terminals at Kashmere Gate.
The Ring Road, constructed partially over floodplains, remained closed for three consecutive days near Kashmere Gate last week.
With the situation deteriorating every passing hour last week, Kejriwal urged the Centre to intervene and the Delhi Police imposed Section 144 of the CrPC in flood-prone areas to prevent public movement there.
The Army was called in for the first time since the 2010 floods to repair a broken flow regulator at drain number 12, the reason behind the flooding in central parts of the capital on Friday.
The consequences of the floods have been devastating, with over 26,000 people evacuated from their homes. The losses incurred in terms of property, businesses, and earnings have amounted to crores.
DEATH TOLL DUE TO RAIN RISES IN HARYANA, UP
One more death due to heavy rains was reported in Haryana on Tuesday, taking the toll to 35, according to state government data.
The state was lashed by heavy rains recently, leading to flooding in several districts. As many as 1,362 villages and 1.73 lakh hectares of crop area have been affected, the data updated at 5 pm stated.
A total of 6,629 people have been evacuated from the affected areas, it stated.
As many as 3,383 of those evacuated are staying in 41 relief camps set up in the state.
Several districts, including Ambala, Fatehabad, Faridabad, Kaithal, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Panchkula, Palwal, Sirsa, Sonipat and Yamunanagar, have been hit by the recent flooding.
Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, four people were killed in rain-related incidents in the 24 hours that ended at 6 pm on Tuesday, the Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner said in a statement.
One person died of snakebite in Kanpur Dehat, one due to man-animal conflict in Bijnor and two people drowned — one each in Varanasi and Shravasti.
According to the Irrigation Department, the Ganga is flowing above the danger mark in Budaun and the Yamuna in Mathura.
In Uttar Pradesh, 39,216 people in 426 villages in 12 districts — Aligarh, Bijnor, GB Nagar, Farukhabad, Firozabad, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Shahjahanpur and Shamli — have been affected by floods.
ORANGE ALERT IN MUMBAI
On Tuesday, Mumbai and its suburbs received moderate to heavy rainfall during the day and the weather department issued an orange alert for the city for Wednesday, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall in some places.
The weather bureau has issued a red alert for neighbouring Raigad and Palghar districts predicting heavy to very rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy rain at isolated places for Wednesday. An orange alert is sounded for the Thane district.
Most areas and also suburbs in Mumbai received light or moderate rainfall with intermittent spells of heavy rain on Tuesday.
The island city of Mumbai, eastern suburbs, and western suburbs received 17.44 mm, 22.55 mm and 18.87 mm rainfall, respectively, between 8 am and 6 pm, the city civic body said.
Earlier in the day, suburban services of the Central Railway were affected due to the rain, coupled with the failure of an express train engine during the morning rush hours.
Intermittent heavy rains lashed Bandra, Dahisar, Chembur, Fort, Matunga, Byculla and other areas of the city on Monday night, per civic officials.
There was no major waterlogging anywhere on Tuesday morning, they said.
Road traffic was overall normal.
HEAVY SHOWERS IN GUJARAT
Large parts of Gujarat, including Rajkot, Surat and Gir Somnath districts, received heavy to very heavy rainfall on Tuesday, creating a flood-like situation in several places and throwing normal life out of gear.
Sutrapada taluka in Gir Somnath district received 345 mm rainfall, the highest in the state, in just 14 hours since 6 am on Tuesday, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.
The IMD said heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated areas was possible in the state, especially in some districts of Saurashtra and south Gujarat regions, during the next few days.
The state administration reviewed the preparedness to deal with the situation arising out of heavy showers and the overall monsoon condition in Gujarat.
Dhoraji taluka of Rajkot district received around 250 mm rainfall during the 14-hour period since 6 am with 145 mm showers recorded in just two hours, SEOC said.
The centre said Surat was also lashed with downpours with around 104 mm showers recorded during the day, disrupting normal life in the south Gujarat city.
Parts of Junagadh district, too, experienced torrential rains.
The state government said heavy rainfall is likely to occur in the Amreli and Bhavnagar districts of the Saurashtra region and Valsad district of south Gujarat between July 19-21 and necessary instructions have been given to the local administration to deal with the situation.
Out of Gujarat’s 206 reservoirs, 43 have been placed on high alert due to heavy inflow of water. Eighteen reservoirs are on an alert mode and warnings have been issued for another 19, the government said in a release.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Forces (SDRF) teams have been put on alert in view of the rain situation.
The state has already received around 56 per cent of the average rainfall so far this monsoon season.