Monsoon 2023: The weather office has forecast more heavy rain for several states in north India.
Heavy rain across north India over the last three days has led to several deaths in landslides and other rain-related incidents. The weather office said that the unprecedented rainfall is due to the confluence of a western disturbance and monsoonal winds.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy, very heavy, and extremely heavy rainfall in 23 states in the country. A red alert has been issued in Uttarakhand while extremely heavy rainfall is expected in West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya.
The weather office has issued a forecast of heavy rainfall for today in Himachal Pradesh. However, the intensity of the rain is expected to decrease significantly after three days of intense rainfall.
The weather office has also issued a forecast of moderate to light rainfall in Delhi and surrounding areas today.
The scale of the damage in the entire region has been captured in visuals of bridges being swept away, boulders tumbling down hills due to rain-induced landslides, and vehicles swallowed by the gushing waters.
The River Yamuna in Delhi breached the danger mark of 205.33 metres late last evening. The water level continued to rise overnight, and by this morning, it had reached 206.32 meters. The increase in water level was due to Haryana releasing more water into the river from the Hathnikund barrage.
In Haryana and Punjab, after three days of heavy rain, special teams have been deployed to assess the damage and to provide food, water, and shelter to those who have been displaced.
A flood-like situation developed in a private housing colony in Punjab's Dera Bassi after a fresh spell of rain. The water level rose so high that boats and tractors had to be used to rescue locals who were stuck in their homes.
In Himachal Pradesh, the worst affected state in north India, heavy rain battered the state, leading to the deaths of 30 people and causing damage worth Rs 3,000 crore. The state capital Shimla reported the highest number of casualties with 11 dead. According to the police, 29 of the 30 dead have been identified.
Additionally, over 500 tourists have been stranded in various parts of the state after rain-induced landslides cut off access to the areas.
Heavy rain and falling boulders killed four people and injured seven others in Uttarakhand last evening. The boulders tumbled down the hills and crushed three vehicles that were passing by. An orange alert has been sounded in the state with Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami saying that his administration remains "on full alert".
Further north, in Jammu, the Amarnath Yatra has been suspended for the fourth day in a row due to damage to the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in the Ramban section. The highway was closed after heavy rain caused landslides. As a result, 15,000 pilgrims are stranded in Jammu and other places.
The weather office has forecast more heavy rain for several states in north India, including Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, with the Army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) deployed to assist in the relief and rescue operations. The NDRF has deployed 39 teams to the affected states.