New Delhi: With heavy rain lashing several parts of northwest India on Saturday and Sunday, Delhi saw 153 mm of rain over the past 24 hours, which is the highest in a single day in July since 1982.
The national capital had seen 169.9 mm of rain on July 25, 1982, 133.4 mm of rain on July 10, 2003, and an all-time high of 266.2 mm on July 21, 1958.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has attributed the ‘very heavy’ rainfall to a substantial interaction between a western disturbance and monsoonal winds over northwest India.
Following the record rainfall, flooding was reported in posh corridors of Connaught Place, wide avenues of Lutyens’ Delhi, ITO, Majnu Ka Tila, Rohtak Road, the Ring Road, the Pandav Nagar underpass, Purana Qila Road, Sarita Vihar Chowk and Pragati Maidan on Mathura Road areas while Minto Bridge had to be shut. The Delhi Traffic Police received a total of 56 waterlogging calls, Indian Express reported.
Pictures and videos of commuters wading through knee-deep water have also flooded social media platforms. While a 58-year-old woman was killed when the ceiling of her flat came crashing down on her, a house collapsed near Zakhira flyover in North Delhi, trapping three persons, this morning.
With the MeT office issuing a yellow alert, warning of moderate rain, which could cause more problems to the residents of Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has cancelled the leave of all government officers and instructed them to inspect the severe waterlogging problem across the city.
The annual Amarnath Yatra has also been suspended for the third consecutive day following incessant rains and landslides. At least five people have lost their lives in different rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh in the last 24 hours — three in Shimla, one in Chamba and one in Kullu.
Comments are closed.