Torrential downpour battered several parts of north India on Sunday causing 19 people to lose their lives in landslides and other rain-related incidents. Most rivers were inundated. This includes Yamuna in Delhi which is on the brink of floods due to 36 hours of incessant rains.Â
Roads and residential localities across several cities in north India were submerged in knee-deep water-logging as record rainfall pounded the region. Terrifying visuals show
vehicles floating like paper boats, muddy waters gushing into residential areas, buildings submerged by swollen rivers and land and roads caving in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi, among other places.
Delhi saw its highest single day rainfall in July since 1982. The national capital recorded an unprecedented 260 mm of rainfall in 36 hours starting at 8.30 am on Saturday. This is more than 30 percent of July’s quota of 195.8 mm. The government has issued a flood warning and shut schools for a day. Schools were also closed in adjoining NCR cities of Gurugram and Noida on Monday, officials said.Â
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Himachal has been the worst-hit. Solan broke a 50-year-old rain record standing from 1971 while Una received the highest downpour since 1993. Three died in a house collapse following a landslide in Shimla district while one persian died each in Kullu and Chamba districts. 10 districts are on red alert. Five people were killed in three separate landslide incidents. HP saw 14 major landslides and 13 flash floods in the past 36 hours. Over 700 roads have been closed in the state. All schools in Himachal Pradesh are shut till Tuesday.
In Uttarakhand, three drowned after their jeep fell into the Ganga amid a landslide on the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway. Two houses collapsed in Kashipur killing two. A policeman died after being hit by a boulder on the Yamunotri National Highway in Uttarkashi district’s Barkot.
In Jammu and Kashmir, two people were killed after a landslide hit a passenger bus in Doda district. In Ladakh’s Kargil district, a man was killed after his vehicle got crushed under a boulder on the Leh-Srinagar national highway. Two soldiers were swept away by flash floods while crossing the Dogra Nallah on Saturday. Their bodies were recovered in Poonch district.
(Inputs from PTI)
