Heavy downpours in several Indian states have left many people dead.
In southern Kerala, incessant rains have triggered multiple landslides that have killed at least 277 people and left hundreds more injured.
In the hilly states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, heavy downpours have caused havoc, destroying infrastructure and waterlogging due to cloudbursts in several parts.
Delhi, too, received heavy overnight rainfall, which led to waterlogging, diversion of flights, traffic disruptions and closure of schools.
Here’s how the rain is wreaking havoc in parts of India.
Kerala
Heavy rain in Kerala led to landslides in its Wayanad district early on Tuesday, sending torrents of mud, water and tumbling boulders downhill and burying or sweeping people to their deaths as they slept.
Top state police officer M R Ajith Kumar told Reuters that the majority of the landslides occurred on the upper slopes of hills and cascaded to the valley below.
It was the worst disaster in the state since deadly floods in 2018. The region hit by the landslide was forecast to get 204 millimetres (8 inches) of rainfall but ended up getting 572 millimetres (22.5 inches) over a period of 48 hours, Vijayan said on Tuesday.
According to experts, the area has seen a lot of rain over the past two weeks, which has loosened the soil. Then, on Monday, extremely heavy rainfall caused the landslides.
Authorities said that they had rescued nearly 1,600 people from the hillside villages and tea and cardamom estates on Wednesday.
It was reported that over 8,000 people were being housed in camps throughout the district and that at least 277 people had died.
Asianet cited district authorities in its report, which stated that over 350 of the 400 registered homes in the impacted area had been damaged.
As hundreds of rescuers laboured through mud and boulders and removed victims from the wreckage on Wednesday, hopes of finding survivors started to wane.
The rescue efforts were hindered by persistent rain that became more intense during the day and the rising water level in a nearby river, which resulted in the temporary bridge meant to link the most damaged section of Mundakkai being washed away.
The weather department has forecast more heavy rain over the next 24 hours, Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, urging people to be on “high alert.”
The Indian Navy said its disaster relief team had reached the area on Tuesday night and search and rescue helicopters were deployed early on Wednesday.
Also read: Did over 100 mm of rain in an hour lead to Delhi deluge? Why does Capital struggle with flooding?
Delhi
A sudden and severe rainfall hit Delhi on Wednesday night, catching residents off guard. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) reported a total of 147 millimetres in the eastern parts of Delhi and its suburbs.
Local media reported that at least five persons had died.
On Thursday, there were still severe delays at places like Rajghat, Anuvrat Marg, and ITO.
As a result, the underpasses at Kirari, Pul Prahladpur, Jakhira, and Minto Bridge were closed by the Public Works Department (PWD), as per Hindustan Times.
Underpasses at Zakhira, Okhla, Ashram, and Kishanganj (Azad market), according to Delhi Police, have been dewatered; however, traffic movement is still affected by uprooted trees at Sector-1 Dwarka, Rajapuri, and Golf Course Road, Sector 16 Dwarka. Traffic was halted in the impacted areas due to a cave-in on the road near Dhaula Kuan.
Two people suffered injuries when a house collapsed in Subzi Mandi, and cars sustained damage when a wall collapsed in Daryaganj.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a “red alert” warning on Wednesday after at least 10 flights to the National Capital were forced to divert due to heavy rain.
According to News18, an official stated that the bad weather caused the diversions to occur after 7:30 pm. Of these, two were diverted to Lucknow and eight were redirected to Jaipur.
On Wednesday night, several thunderstorms led rain to pour in Delhi and the National Capital Region. The first heavy downpour of the night was more than 50 millimetres in an hour. Although the amount of rain on Wednesday night decreased after 8:30 pm, it persisted all over Delhi until 2:30 am.
The state government has announced that all schools in the city and Gurugram will remain shut on Thursday.
Lieutenant Governor, Vinai Kumar Saxena, urged officials to remain vigilant amid the heavy downpour.
According to the weather department, the rainy conditions are expected to continue till August 5. Besides Delhi, other parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) have also experienced lightning, thunder, and light rain.
Residents of the capital have experienced a series of extreme weather events in the past few months, from sizzling temperatures to floods and heavy rainfall that caused a roof collapse at the city’s airport.
The latest downpour comes a week after three IAS aspirants died due to flooding in the basement of a coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar. The area has been inundated once again following the heavy rains, with numerous videos showing severe flooding in the area.
Also read: Wayanad landslides: Isn’t it high time to stop construction on Western Ghats?
Uttarakhand
PTI reported that six people, including three of a family, were killed and as many injured in Uttarakhand as heavy rains led to house collapses, flooding of areas and a rise in water levels in many rivers in the state.
In Bahadarabad’s Bharpur village in Haridwar, three people were killed and as many injured after a house collapsed due to heavy rain. The deceased have been identified as Bhanu Prasad (50), his wife Neelam Devi (45), and son Vipin (28) – were killed in a landslide following a cloudburst in Jakhanyali village of Tehri district’s Ghansali area, the officials said.
In Chamoli’s Devchauli region, a woman and a child have been missing since Wednesday evening after a house collapsed, officials said.
In Haridwar, two children died and nine others were injured when the roof of a dilapidated house collapsed after heavy rainfall, the report said. The dead were identified as Aas Mohammed (10) and eight-year-old Nagma.
District Magistrate Dhiraj Singh Garbyal told ANI that three of the injured are in critical condition. “The remaining are also hospitalised but are out of danger. This old house was in a dilapidated state, and heavy rain caused it to collapse,” he said.
Moreover, nearly a dozen four-wheelers parked along the riverbed of the Sukhi in Kharkhari were washed away following torrential rain last evening. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the SDRF and the administration have been deployed in affected areas of the state.
On the Kedarnath route, Disaster Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said 200 passengers were stranded due to falling stones and the washing away of a 20-25 metre footpath near the Bhimbali Chowki. They have been moved to safer places.
In Kharkhari, a truck carrying rations and essentials for a group of kanwariyas was among the vehicles washed away. No one was there in the truck when the incident took place on Wednesday.
Many colonies and markets of Bhupatwala, Haridwar, Naya Haridwar, Kankhal and Jwalapur also got flooded. In Talla village of Pithoragarh district, a house collapsed and three others were damaged.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has spoken to the disaster management secretary and taken updates on the affected areas and relief and rescue measures. NDRF and SDRF are on alert.
Dhami has appealed to people to leave their homes only when necessary. “The safety of people and visitors coming to the state is our top priority,” he said.
Himachal Pradesh
On Thursday, two people died and more than 50 people were missing after downpours and cloudbursts in Shimla, Mandi and Kullu districts.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said in a post on X that rescue operations were on.
Shimla’s Rampur administration said the disaster management authority received information about a cloudburst near a hydroelectric power project at Samej Khad early today.
A disaster response team has been rushed to the spot and top officials, including Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap and district police chief Sanjeev Gandhi, are on their way.
Two people died after a barrage in a power project was breached, state revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi told ANI.
The cloudburst has hit road connectivity in the area, so the rescue teams are trying to hike to the affected site.
According to an order issued by Mandi deputy commissioner Apoorv Devgan, cloudbursts in Rajban village near Muhal Terang led to road blockades and landslides.
“Under these circumstances, movement of staff, school and college children, and trainees may not be safe and should be restricted,” the Deputy Commissioner said, announcing that all educational institutions and vocational training centres in Padhar subdivision must remain shut.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been closely monitoring the situation in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh in the wake of heavy rains and a cloudburst. He has asked top officials to ensure all possible assistance is provided to the affected. Relief operations are underway in full swing.
Notably, India has witnessed extreme weather conditions in recent years, from torrential rain and floods to droughts and cyclones, blamed by some experts on climate change.
“Climate change has led to significant alterations in our environment. We need to take proactive steps to address and adapt to these changes,” Kerala CM Vijayan said. “Effective measures should be taken to prevent impending disasters.”
With inputs from agencies
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Kerala, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Himachal: How rain fury is wreaking havoc across India
