Delhi's 19-Year High For Rain - How City Came Undone, Water Inside Homes

Record rain in Delhi today led to flooding and traffic jams during the morning rush hour in many parts of the national capital and neighbouring Gurgaon and Noida.

Delhi received 112.1 mm rainfall in a day, the highest in 12 years and a 19-year record for September, said the India Meteorological Department or IMD, which issued an orange alert.

Videos shared online show cars struggling to cross the flooded Dwarka underpass like motorboats.

Cars crawled on major roads in the heart of Delhi as rainwater slowed down traffic and left large parts of the city submerged, cutting off many routes.
 

Capital city #Delhi #DelhiRains #mahipalpurwaterfall ..... pic.twitter.com/On93EOIcuE

— Neeta Sharma (@NEETAS11) September 1, 2021

Delhi receives 1598% more rainfall in the last 24 hours. NDTV's Divya Wadhwa brings you the latest weather update pic.twitter.com/5Lone08j6a

— NDTV (@ndtv) September 1, 2021

Delhi: Waterlogging reported in Munirka following rainfall today morning

India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued orange alert for the national capital and predicted 'moderate rain/thundershowers with the possibility of heavy rain at isolated places' today pic.twitter.com/0UqBUwao7f

— ANI (@ANI) September 1, 2021

In visuals, a bungalow in the upscale Sainik Farms in south Delhi was seen flooded with drain water and its residents frantically tried to move household items out. They complained that the civic body hadn't cleaned the drains for a long time.

Delhi Rain: Residents were seen struggling even inside their homes.

At Minto Bridge, which is among the first spots to get flooded every time it rains heavily, vehicles were seen in a long queue and many of them were partly in water. The Delhi Traffic Police said both the carriageways had been closed due to waterlogging, and traffic was being diverted.

Traffic Alert
Traffic movement on Minto Bridge (both carriageway) has been closed due to water logging. Traffic diverted from cannaught place towards Barakhamba and traffic coming from Kamla Market side diverted towards Deen Dayal Uppadhay Road.

— Delhi Traffic Police (@dtptraffic) September 1, 2021

There were similar scenes in Gurgaon that received 64.2 mm of rainfall in 24 hours. A few images shared by news agency ANI showed cars wading in waterlogged streets and almost frozen at the spot.

Haryana: Severe waterlogging seen in several parts of Gurugram following rainfall

As per IMD, the city received 64.2 mm of rain in last 24 hours

'Generally cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain or thundershowers' is likely in Gurugram for the 3 three days, IMD says pic.twitter.com/f1KNUL0fUn

— ANI (@ANI) September 1, 2021

The rain hit Delhi on a day when schools in the city reopened after 17 months. Authorities said that they were implementing strict Covid measures for students as well as teaching and non-teaching staff. Photos showed students carrying umbrellas with masks on while going to school.

The weather department has predicted more rain till Saturday. Authorities have been issuing regular updates, and warning commuters about routes they should avoid due to waterlogging and traffic jams.
 

Delhi: Schools reopen in the national capital for classes 9 to 12, starting today; visuals from Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Pusa Road

Kumkum, a class 10 student says, "There is no doubt that there is a sense of fear but after all, we've to study & sit for exams." pic.twitter.com/WTt2e0JDds

— ANI (@ANI) September 1, 2021

The capital had recorded 126.8 mm rainfall on September 13, 2002. The all-time record is 172.6 mm rainfall on September 16, 1963.

This morning, the city recorded 75.6 mm rainfall in just three hours starting 8:30 am; it has already recorded more than the monthly quota of rain on the first two days of the month, reports said. 

"We have been recording short and intense bouts of rains, sometimes around 100 mm rainfall in just 24 hours. In the past, this much precipitation would occur over a period of 10 to 15 days," Mahesh Palawat, Vice President, Skymet Weather, a private forecasting agency, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. 

(With inputs from PTI)