Flood Situation Worsens In UP, 875 Villages In 16 Districts Affected

Heavy rains disrupted normal life in many parts of the country, including Delhi and adjoining Gurgaon, on Thursday and led to worsening of the flood situation in Uttar Pradesh where over 870 villages in 16 districts have been affected.

Low-lying areas were submerged and electricity and road links snapped at several places in Odisha after torrential rains triggered by a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal lashed the state.

In Jammu and Kashmir, multiple landslides triggered by heavy rains blocked the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir to rest of the country.

Rains in Delhi and its neighbouring areas this morning led to long traffic snarls and damaged property. The Ayanagar weather station recorded 122.8 mm between 8.30 am on Wednesday and 8.30 am on Thursday, which was 11 times the normal rainfall.

On an average, the national capital gauges 11.3 mm rainfall from 8.30 am on August 19 to 8.30 am on August 20 every year.

The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for the city, recorded 54.8 mm rainfall.

The Palam, Lodhi Road and Ridge weather stations gauged 89.1 mm, 62.4 mm and 77.3 mm precipitation during the period.

Rainfall recorded below 15 mm is considered light, between 15 and 64.5 mm is moderate and above 64.5 mm is heavy. Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) regional forecasting centre, said moderate rains will continue till Friday morning.

Thereafter, the intensity will decrease and the city will witness on and off light rains.

There was severe flooding in Gurgaon, where roads turned into small rivers and parks resembled swimming pools.

Just a few hours of rains flooded swathes of Delhi, spelling trouble for commuters who remained stuck for hours on water-logged roads.

Pictures and videos of vehicles and people wading through waist-deep water were widely shared on social media. The rains also crippled electricity supply in many areas.

The IMD in its all-India weather summary and forecast bulletin said that heavy to very heavy rainfall was recorded at isolated places in east Rajasthan and heavy rainfall at isolated places in Konkan and Goa, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Sikkim and north-eastern states of Assam and Meghalaya.

It has forecasted more rains for Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Gujarat.

In Uttar Pradesh, as many as 875 villages in 16 districts are affected by floods. Relief Commissioner Sanjay Goyal said that 578 of the affected villages are marooned and relief work was going on in the affected areas.

On Wednesday, a state minister had said that 777 villages in 16 districts were affected by the flooding and 520 of them were marooned.

Three major rivers in the state -- the Sharda, Rapti and the Ghagra -- were flowing above the danger mark in several places. The state recorded more rains on Thursday.

The heavy rains in Odisha threw life out of gear by snapping road link and communication, and damaging mud houses.

Two men were washed away in an overflowing Jambhira river at Golmuhan Ghat in Mayurbhanj district, officials said.

Special relief commissioner (SRC) PK Jena said the state recorded average rainfall of 59 mm since Wednesday

Nabarangpur district reported the heaviest rainfall of 130.6 mm, while Malkangiri district in southern Odisha saw road communication snapped and low-lying areas inundated due to the incessant rains, the officials said.

The heavy rains caused the water levels of several rivers to rise in Bhadrak, Balasore, Puri, Kalahandi and Kandhamal districts, the officials said adding the state government has already asked the district administrations to be ready to deal with waterlogging and localised flooding.

In view of heavy rainfall forecast by IMD, state chief secretary AK Tripathy held a video conference with senior officials, including collectors to review the situation arising out of heavy downpours.

Jena said after the review meeting that five districts received more than 100 mm rainfall, while ten others reported more than 50 mm.

The two who were washed away on Wednesday evening have been identified after their bodies were fished out of the river on Thursday by fire service personnel, officer in-charge of Moroda police station, Madhusudan Dutta said.

Jena said low-lying areas and roads in different parts of the state were submerged due to the torrential rains. Reports of damage to mud and thatched houses, standing crops were received from some areas.

He said assessment of the loss due to the rain is on.

Cuttack recorded 117.2 mm rainfall, Jajpur 111.8 mm, Koraput 100.8 mm and Kendrapada 100.2 mm in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 AM on Thursday, Jena said.

Salepur block in Cuttack district recorded the highest rainfall of 300 mm followed by Nischintakoili at 297.5 mm and Nabarangpur which saw 243 mm rainfall, he said.

Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Sudam Marndi who took stock of the situation, said the situation is under control and there is no fear of flood though the water level of several rivers in the state is rising.

In Jammu and Kashmir, multiple landslides triggered by heavy rains blocked the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Ramban district, leaving over 200 vehicles stranded, officials said.

The 270-km highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, was blocked by landslides at Trishul Morh, Battery Cheshma and Pantiyal areas, officials said.

Over 200 vehicles are stranded at different points of the highway, they said.

Men and machinery have been deployed to clear the area.

In Kerala, the deaths in the Pettimudilandslide climbed to 63 on Thursday with the recovery of an unidentified woman's body while search is on for seven missing people.

The remains were found near a river bank at Puthukuzhi, about 14 km, from the landslip site, an official press release said.