The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a heavy rain warning for Delhi-NCR, which includes Noida, Gurugram and Ghaziabad, in view of the continuous heavy monsoon rains in North India. Today’s weather forecast for Delhi is predicting heavy rains, which is likely to affect normal life.
Heavy rains have caused severe waterlogging and long traffic jams in Gurugram. Vehicles are seen crawling for up to 7 kilometers here. The District Disaster Management Authority has issued an orange alert for Gurugram and recommended keeping schools, colleges and offices closed. Also, people have been advised to work from home.
Noida and Ghaziabad are also receiving heavy rains today, which has further increased the problems in NCR. This alert of IMD is not limited to Delhi-NCR, but a red alert has also been issued in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where there is a threat of flash floods and excessive rainfall. At the same time, an orange alert has been imposed in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.
Moderate to high level flood situations may arise in some areas of Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh during the next 24 hours. The districts which are at high risk are as follows:
Uttarakhand: Almora, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Dehradun, Pauri, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag, Tehri, Uttarkashi
Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh: Anantnag, Doda, Kathua, Kishtwar, Kulgam, Poonch, Ramban, Reasi, Udhampur
Himachal Pradesh: Chamba, Kangra, Kinnaur, Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur
Continuous rains in the last few weeks have led to incidents like landslides, flash floods and waterlogging, which have claimed many lives, rendered thousands homeless and caused extensive damage to infrastructure, agriculture and livelihoods.
The water level of the rivers has crossed the danger level and traffic on many roads is closed. In this situation, the central and state governments, Indian Army, Air Force, Navy, NDRF and SDRF are engaged in relief and rescue operations.
In Himachal Pradesh, 340 people have lost their lives in the monsoon havoc since June 20, according to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). Of these, 182 people have died due to rain-related incidents like landslides, floods, drowning and house collapse, while 158 deaths have been recorded in road accidents.
