Several parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were reeling from floods on Monday following incessant showers over the past few days.
The death toll in rain-related incidents has mounted to 145 across the country. Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of deaths — 111 since last week. Twenty-five have died in Bihar.
The weather department has forecast a long delayed withdrawal of monsoon and more rains for Patna, where several areas still remain submerged due to heavy rainfall over the past three days.
Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, whose own residence was affected by the deluge, was seen doing the rounds of the city clad in a T-shirt and shorts, and issuing instructions to officials.
Highest since 1994
India recorded its highest rainfall since 1994 this monsoon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said classifying it as ‘above normal.’ The season officially ended on Monday. However, rain bearing winds still remain active over several parts of the country.
Of the 36 meteorological subdivisions of the IMD, two regions — west Madhya Pradesh and Saurashtra and Kutch — recorded precipitation in “large excess.”
In Patna, normal life was thrown out of gear, with several schools shut, roads inundated, and many shops, hospitals and houses submerged in knee-deep waters. The State’s disaster management department said the government had urged the Air Force to send a helicopter for dropping food packets and other relief material in affected areas.
Though there was a let up in rainfall in the morning, the IMD has predicted showers later on Monday in the Bihar capital.
Deficient in Delhi
Delhi may witness scattered rains over the next three to four days, according to the weather office. In a year the rest of India witnessed “above-normal monsoon,” the city recorded the lowest since 2014 with a deficiency of 38 per cent, the IMD said. The city recorded 404.1 mm rainfall this monsoon — from June 1 to September 30 — against the 30-year average of 648.9 mm, a shortfall of 38 per cent, an official said.
In Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, authorities had to shift about 900 prisoners to other jails after flood waters entered the barracks of the district jail located near the Ganga river.
In Jharkhand’s Dumka district, three members of a family died after a wall collapsed on them following heavy rains in the region.
As many as 13 deaths were reported on Saturday from Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
In in Rajkot district in Gujarat, three women drowned after their car was swept away at a flooded causeway on Sunday following heavy rains in several parts of the Saurashtra region.
