Cloudbursts, flash floods, landslides devastate HP, Maharashtra, J&K, Lakadh, northern India taking over 22 lives on Wednesday.
India Meteorological Department issues an alert for North India, a ‘red’ alert for Uttarakhand and an ‘orange’ alert for Delhi due to the incessant rainfalls. The water level of Beas River in Kullu rose drastically due to heavy rainfall on Wednesday.
Flash floods take 14 lives in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday with four still missing. In a known tragic event, a woman and her 4-year-old son were swept away in flash floods in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed to execute rescue operations and assess the damage.
In Maharashtra, the death toll from rain-related incidents climbed to 213. Raigad, one of the worst-affected districts, accounted for 95 of the reported fatalities. Other districts reeling under massive landslides include Satara and Ratnagiri, while floods have claimed lives in Kolhapur and Sangli.
An ‘orange alert’ accompanies a prediction for extremely bad weather and possible disruption of commuting owing to waterlogging as well as cuts in power supply.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Himachal Pradesh chief secretary Anil Khachi said seven districts in the state remain affected by flash floods. Lahaul-Spiti, Kullu, and Chamba are the worst affected.
The J&K government announces ex-gratia for victims of families lost to the cloudburst where seven died, and 12 were rescued after a cloudburst in Jammu’s Kishtwar district.
Maharasthra swamping with water leaves 59 people missing due to floods in villages submerged in the overflowing Varna River.
Seven people died in the Lahaul-Spiti flash floods triggered by a cloudburst over Tozing Nullah in Udaipur, State Disaster Management Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said.
An ITBP personnel rescue operation was carried out at Tozing Nallah in Himachal’s Lahaul-Spiti on Wednesday.
A hydro project official and a tourist from Delhi were among those feared dead in Kullu district. Two more fatalities have been reported in Chamba.
The Shimla Meteorological Centre has issued a “red” weather warning, indicating extremely heavy rain.
Traffic has been suspended on the Manali Manali-Leh highway and the Gramphu- Kaza highway. Multiple landslides have also blocked the Kalka-Shimla highway and the Chandigarh-Manali highway.
Cloudbursts in J&K, Ladakh: 8 dead, 17 missing
The twin union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were struck by a series of cloudbursts on Wednesday.
Dacchan and Boujwa areas in J&K’s Kishtwar district witnessed the maximum damage. The bodies of seven people, including two women, have been recovered from Dacchan. Another person drowned in Saktoi Nallah in Rajouri district on Wednesday.
At the same time, 17 people were rescued from the area in a joint operation by the police, Army, and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). Seventeen people are still reportedly missing.
Army personnel also carry out rescue operations at Hanzor in J&K’s Kishtwar on Wednesday.
Cloudbursts were also reported from the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir and Aloosa Village in Bandipora in North Kashmir.
Meanwhile, floods disrupted normal life in Machail, Paddar, and Bunjwah in the Kishtwar district on Wednesday.
In Ladakh, cloudbursts affected the Sangra and Khangral areas of Kargil in Ladakh, damaging nearly a dozen homes, several bridges, and even a mini-hydropower project.
Reports of damage are also coming in from Khangral village on the Srinagar-Leh national highway.
Amid all the flash floods and cloudbursts, heavy rain lash Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and according to the Safdarjung Observatory, the national capital has received 386.3 mm of rainfall this month so far.
Intense waterlogging led to traffic congestions in a number of areas, including Vasant Kunj, Laxmi Nagar, Mubarakpur, Malviya Nagar, Dwarka sector 1 and 8, Mahipalpur, Nangloi and Uttam Nagar, among others.
A portion of a road also caved in near India Gate following heavy rain on Wednesday morning.
The Delhi-Gurugram Expressway got waterlogged at Narsinghpur after incessant downpours on Wednesday.
Gurugram in Haryana was also affected by waterlogging in low-lying areas. Gurugram received 91.8 mm of rain on Wednesday, as per the weather department.
In Punjab, a new stormy rain battered Ambala, Amritsar, Bhiwani, Chandigarh, Hisar, Karnal, Narnaul, Patiala, and Rohtak.
The IMD predicts light to moderate rain at most places in Haryana and Punjab on Thursday.
IMD issues warning for South Bengal, Uttarakhand.
IMD is also predicting heavy rainfall for North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas in West Bengal over the next two days, the Met Department has warned of a rise in water levels of rivers in South Bengal.
In Uttarakhand, intense heavy rainfall is expected to continue in Uttarkashi, Nainital, Dehradun, and Pauri. The director of the IMD’s regional centre in Uttarakhand, Bikram Singh, advised people to avoid travel in anticipation of landslides.
Other parts of the state likely to receive heavy downpours include Purulia, Bankura, Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Purba Bardhaman, Kolkata, Nadia, and Murshidabad.
In the Konkan region, Goa is to witness heavy rainfall, IMD issues orange alert for July 30-31
Multiple landslides activated by pouring angry rains have already blocked the Gangotri and Yamunotri national highways at a number of points. As many as 20 link roads also stand blocked due to landslides.
What is a Flash Flood?
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes, and depressions.
A video of flash floods:
What is a Cloudburst?
Cloudburst, a sudden, very heavy rainfall, usually local in nature and of brief duration. Most so-called cloudbursts occur in connection with thunderstorms. In these storms, there are violent uprushes of air, which at times prevent the condensing raindrops from falling to the ground.
Powerful videos of cloudbursts:
A powerful video of a cloudburst shared on Twitter by Mohsin Altaf.
If you are wondering what #cloudburst is! pic.twitter.com/7CnvayFlbf
— Mohsin Altaf (@mohsynaltaf) July 28, 2021