India monsoon rains news | Yamuna River water level still above danger mark; 1 killed, 3 injured in Himachal cloudburst

Delhi Minister Atishi on Monday advised people living in relief camps set up by the government in the National Capital to not return to their flood-affected homes since there was “slight rise” in water level in Yamuna River after rains lashed some areas of Haryana a day earlier.

She advised people to return to their homes only after the water level comes down below the danger mark.

“Due to heavy rains yesterday in some areas of Haryana, the water level of Yamuna is rising slightly today. The Central Water Commission estimates that water level could reach 206.1m overnight. There is no danger for the people of Delhi from this. But all the people living in relief camps are requested not to go back to their homes just yet. Go back to your homes only after the water level comes below the danger mark,” tweeted Ms. Atishi.

ANI

Even as Delhi battles a flood-like situation, the weather department has forecast moderate rain in the city on Tuesday, with the maximum temperature likely to settle around 33 degrees Celsius.

On Monday, Delhi recorded a low of 26.4 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season’s average, and a high of 34.2 degrees Celsius, a degree below normal.

The humidity levels oscillated between 71 per cent and 98 per cent.

The weather department has issued a “yellow” alert for Tuesday, with the possibility of a generally cloudy sky, along with light rain or thundershowers. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 33 degrees Celsius and 26 degrees Celsius respectively.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) uses four colour codes for weather warnings -- “green” (no action needed), “yellow” (watch and stay updated), “orange” (be prepared) and “red” (take action).

PTI

A cloudburst occurred in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district early Monday morning, leaving a man dead and three others injured, officials said.

The incident was reported around 3:55 am near Kayas village in Kullu, washing away vehicles and blocking a road, according to the state emergency response centre.

The deceased was identified as Badal Sharma, a resident of village Chansari, they said, adding that two of the injured are in a serious condition.

Local authorities immediately responded to the emergency situation and machinery has been deployed to clear the blockade on the road hampering rescue operations, they said.

PTI

Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on Monday said that the state is in a very serious condition after constantly being hit by floods and the rains.

Governor Shukla said that the current damage assessment will be done after a visit of a special team from the Centre.

While speaking to ANI, Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla said, “The condition of Himachal Pradesh is very serious. Currently, I cannot say much about the damage state has suffered as a special team from the Centre will visit the state and investigate the situation. They will submit their reports and I will instruct DCs to submit their own reports on the damages. The state has suffered huge losses in terms of life and property.

Earlier the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday issued a ‘moderate to high risk’ alert predicting flash floods occurrence in five districts of Himachal Pradesh till July 17.

“Moderate to high risk” of flash food over a few watersheds and neighbourhoods of Chamba, Kangra, Sirmaour, Shimla and Kullu districts till July 17,” a bulletin issued by IMD said.

ANI

A day after the Kejriwal government announced a financial aid of Rs 10,000 each to the flood-affected families, the Delhi Congress said the compensation was “too little”.

The party demanded that the Delhi government forms a high-level committee to assess the losses of the flood-hit people here.

Addressing a press conference here, Delhi Congress president Anil Chaudhary said, “The Rs 10,000 compensation announced by the Kejriwal government is too little for those affected.” “

We demand that the Delhi government constitutes a high-level committee to survey the extent of losses suffered by the people, including traders and farmers, and announce adequate cash compensation for them,” Mr. Chaudhary said.

PTI

Children who lost their uniforms and books in the recent floods in the national capital will be allowed to attend classes without it, until new sets of uniforms and textbooks are arranged for them, a statement said.

“All the Heads of government schools are hereby directed to ensure that all the flood affected students are provided emotional and moral support to overcome the distress caused by the losses in recent flood,” a Directorate of Education (DoE) circular said.

“They are directed to allow these students to attend the school even without uniform and textbooks until new sets of uniform and textbooks are arranged,” it said.

The Delhi government circular said many families living on the banks of Yamuna have suffered a lot due to severe flooding in the national capital.

“In some families, the entire household goods got washed away. There are many children who have lost their clothes and books in the floods and are in great distress over loss of their possessions and documents. Children are hesitant to go back to school because they don’t have books and uniforms,” the circular said.

PTI

After record monsoon rains led to massive waterlogging, road caves-in, collapsed homes and gridlocked traffic in Himachal Pradesh, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for rain in four districts of the state.

There is no respite for people in Himachal Pradesh as since June 24, people have been struggling with the problems of long hours of power shedding, water crisis, connectivity etc.

The number of fatalities in North India is on the rise as the region continues to be battered by torrential rains. Among all the affected states, Himachal Pradesh remains the hardest hit, with 117 reported deaths in the state.

According to Himachal Pradesh Disaster Management Authority data, “Monsoon has claimed 117 lives since its onset on June 24 in Himachal Pradesh. Till now 12 people are missing and 121 people have been injured.”

ANI

Cases of conjunctivitis and skin allergy are mostly being reported from relief camps housing people affected by the flooding in parts of Delhi, city Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Monday.

Interacting with reporters during his visit to a Delhi government hospital here, he also said all city government departments have been instructed to constantly monitor the situation.

Mr. Bharadwaj said east Delhi and northeast Delhi have largely been impacted due to the floods due to a swollen Yamuna.

“After flooding, there is a fear of cases of vector-borne disease like dengue, chikungunya and malaria rising. But that trend is not being seen at the moment. Cases of conjunctivitis and skin allergy are mostly being reported from relief camps,” he told reporters.

PTI

Odisha has experienced widespread rainfall in the last 24 hours.

Binika in Sonepur district recorded highest rainfall of 165.2 mm and Dhankauda in Sambalpur 155.5 mm. Jujumara in Sambalpur has received 136 mm of rainfall.

IMD Bhubaneswar said, “Odisha experienced widespread rainfall in last 24 hours. Binika in Sonepur district recorded highest rainfall of 165.2 mm and Dhankauda in Sambalpur 155.5 mm. Very heavy rain was recorded at 6 places while 12 places witnessed heavy rain.”

Earlier, the India Meteorological Department on Sunday said that a cyclonic circulation is lying over the Northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining north Odisha-Gangetic West Bengal coasts.

“A cyclonic circulation lies over Northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining north Odisha-Gangetic West Bengal coasts and extends upto 5.8 km above mean sea level tilting southwards with height,” IMD Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar said. IMD said that the cyclonic circulation is likely to move west-northwestward across north Odisha and adjoining Gangetic West Bengal and Jharkhand during the next two to three days.

ANI

Dignitaries in Himachal Pradesh will not be greeted with a guard of honour for the next two months. The State police has been told to focus instead on relief work after the devastating rains.

The State government has suspended the guard of honour till September 15, with Independence Day as the only exception, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said in a statement issued here on Monday.

Guard of honour is given by the police to dignitaries, including the governor, the Chief Minister and Union Ministers during their field visits in the State.

Police personnel should refrain from engaging in tasks such as guard of honour and focus their efforts solely to aid affected people, Mr. Sukhu said in the statement.

A woman, her teenage sister and another minor girl from the same family drowned while taking a bath in a river in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district, a police official said.

The incident took place at around 10 a.m. when the three persons, residents of Sendri village under Koni police station limits, entered the Arpa river that flows in the area, he said.

Prima facie, it seems they ventured into the deep water of the river, which is in spate after the recent rainfall, and drowned, he said.

PTI

Himachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri on Monday said the Jal Shakti Department has suffered losses to the tune of ₹1,411 crore due to floods and landslides caused by heavy rains in the hill State.

He said 5,203 drinking water schemes, 1,237 irrigation schemes and 55 sewerage schemes were affected while 101 flood control works were damaged.

Mr. Agnihotri, who holds the portfolio of Jal Shakti Vibhag, said while 4,623 schemes have been restored so far, it will take time to fix all of them.

PTI

Police on Monday fished out from the Yamuna in Greater Noida the bodies of two men who had gone missing earlier while bathing, an official said.

The victims were identified as 21-year-old Dhiraj and 17-year-old Sanjit, both residents of Makanpur Khadar village. According to police, Dhiraj and Sanjit had on Sunday gone to take a bath in the Yamuna, which is in full spate due to rain.

After they were reported missing, the local police reached the spot on Sunday and found only the clothes and mobile phones of the two youths.

PTI

Delhi Cabinet Minister Atishi on July 17 urged people to stay in relief camps as the Yamuna water level was showing a rising trend again. Due to heavy rains in some areas of Haryana on Sunday, the water level of Yamuna rose slightly, she said.

All Delhi Government departments have been instructed to constantly monitor the situation in the aftermath of flooding in the national capital, city Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said.

Interacting with reporters during his visit to a Delhi Government hospital, he also said that cases of conjunctivitis and skin allergy are mostly being reported from relief camps set up in the wake of flooding in various parts of Delhi. Mr. Bharadwaj said east Delhi and northeast Delhi have largely been impacted due to the floods.

“After flooding, there is a fear of cases of vector-borne disease like dengue, chikungunya and malaria rising. But that trend is not being seen at the moment. Cases of conjunctivitis and skin allergy are mostly being reported from relief camps,” he told reporters.

PTI

The level of a waterfall in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen district rose suddenly due to heavy rains following which several tourists got stranded near it, officials said. A minor boy went missing, while many other visitors were rescued after the incident which took place on Sunday evening at the Mahadev Pani waterfall, located 20 km from the district headquarters, they said.

An operation was underway on Monday to trace the 16-year-old boy, a resident of neighbouring Bhopal, Additional Superintendent of Police Amrit Meena said. He said the boy had come to visit the waterfall along with his friend, but went missing while taking bath as the water level surged. Several visitors got trapped on the other side of the waterfall due to a sudden rise in the level after heavy rains, Umraoganj Police Station in-charge C.L. Verma said.

PTI

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on July 17 said the Wazirabad water treatment plant, which was shut down amid the flood-like situation in Delhi, has started producing 54 MGD of water and will soon be operating at full capacity.

“The capacity of the Wazirabad water treatment plant is 134 MGD. It has started producing 54 MGD. The equipment got most damaged in this plant. Hopefully, it should start working at full capacity soon. Engineers are working 24x7,” he tweeted.

In a tweet, Mr. Kejriwal said the equipment at the plant suffered the “most damage” due to the flood-like situation in the National Capital.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the water has started receding and people will soon be able to go back to their homes from relief camps. “We have to help them get their life back to normal. I appeal to all people to help them. This is a work of virtue,” he said in a tweet.

The Delhi CM also thanked the PWD, Delhi Jal Board, Army, Navy, National Disaster Response Force, Irrigation and Flood Control Department, and all other officers for their cooperation in the relief and rescue effort.

A cloudburst occurred in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district early on July 17, leaving a man dead and three others injured, officials said.

The cloudburst occurred around 3.55 a.m. near the village Kayas in Kullu, washing away vehicles and blocking a road, according to the State emergency response centre.

So far, 118 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents in the State since the onset of monsoon on June 24, according to the State emergency response centre. The state has suffered a loss to the tune of ₹4,415 crore. - PTI

Amid a receding trend, the water level of the Yamuna in Delhi rose slightly to 205.58 metres on July 17 morning from 205.52 metres the night before.

The water level of Yamuna, which breached the previous record of 207.49 metres last week and crossed 208 metres on July 12, was still flowing above the danger mark of 205.33 metres. - PTI

Heavy rains lashed parts of Mumbai on July 17 morning, but the public transport services were not affected in the metropolis, authorities said.

The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Mumbai centre in its ‘district forecast and warnings’ on Sunday afternoon issued a ‘yellow’ alert for the city on Monday, predicting heavy rainfall at isolated places, a civic official said.

Heavy showers lashed Mahalakshmi, Byculla, Malabar Hill, Matunga, Sion, Bandra, Santacruz, Andheri and some other areas early in the morning, but the rain intensity reduced after 8 a.m. - PTI

The Yamuna has been in spate for the last one week, swelling to 207.71 metres on Wednesday, breaching its all-time record of 207.49 metres set in 1978. The water level in the river came down to 207.98 metres at 11 p.m. on Friday from 208.66 metres on Thursday, three metres above the danger mark of 205.33 metres.

As the flood situation in the National Capital improved on July 16, some roads, including Bhairon Marg, were opened for traffic movement, the Delhi Traffic Police said.

According to a traffic advisory, the Ring Road stretch from ISBT Kashmere Gate to Timarpur and Civil Lines (Mall Road side) has also been opened.

Besides, the Ring Road stretch from Sarai Kale Khan to IP Flyover to Rajghat has been opened for light vehicles. However, the Ring Road stretch from Shanti Van to Monkey Bridge and Yamuna Bazar-ISBT is still closed.

Officials said the Ganga crossed the warning level of 293 metres and reached 293.15 metres in Haridwar Sunday evening, adding that an alert has been issued in the low-lying areas due to the increased level of the river.

The State Disaster Operation Centre has directed Haridwar District Magistrate Dheeraj Singh to repair Gate No 10 of the Bhimgoda barrage at the earliest to avert any heavy losses due to the high-speed water flowing through the breached gate.

According to officials, the Ganga was flowing at 463.20 metres following which water filled up in Sangam Ghat, Ramkund, Dhaneshwar Ghat and Fuladi Ghat. There was also a tremendous jump in the water level of the Ganga after 2,000-3,000 cusecs of water was released from the dam of the GVK hydroelectric project built on the Alaknanda river.