Heavy Rains Wreak Havoc Across North India
New Delhi | Desk: A spell of intense rainfall continues to batter Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Uttarakhand, leading to severe flooding and widespread disruption.
In Punjab, flood-like conditions persist across all 23 districts for the second consecutive day. Over 1,200 villages are submerged. The calamity has claimed 30 lives so far, with 3 people reported missing. Authorities have ordered all schools and colleges to remain closed until September 7th.
Large parts of Haryana's Jhajjar, Hisar, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Ambala, and Panchkula are inundated with 3-5 feet of water. More than 200 schools in the state have been shut. The situation is particularly dire in Ambala, where hundreds of homes are filled with 2-4 feet of water.
The Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana has been continuously releasing water for over 67 hours. This has caused the Yamuna River in Delhi to swell, flowing at 206.80 meters, well above the danger mark of 205 meters. The iconic Iron Bridge (Loha Pul) has been closed. Low-lying areas, including Yamuna Bazaar-Tibetan Bazaar and Monastery Market, are flooded. Approximately 10,000 people have been evacuated from these regions. All schools in the capital remain closed.
The rising water level of the Yamuna has also impacted Uttar Pradesh. In Noida, approximately 1,000 farmhouses have been flooded, necessitating rescue operations for stranded individuals. In Mathura, around 900 families have been affected by the floods. In a concerning development, the water has reached the boundary walls of the Taj Mahal in Agra. Several riverfront ghats and eight cremation grounds in the city are submerged.
Himachal Pradesh is grappling with massive infrastructure damage, with over 1,300 roads blocked. In the last 24 hours, 11 people died due to house collapses and landslides. Two more fatalities were reported this morning from a landslide in Kullu. Yesterday evening, a landslide in Sundernagar, Mandi, buried two houses, raising the death toll from that incident to seven; four bodies were recovered from the debris today. Educational institutions in 7 districts of the state have been shut.
Madhya Pradesh has also received excessive rainfall. The state has recorded 970.28mm of rain so far, which is 104% of the seasonal average against an expected 800.1mm. The normal average rainfall for the state is 939.8mm. In the previous monsoon season, the state received an average of 1117.6mm of rain.
