NEW DELHI: Unrelenting rains have added to the misery in north India, which has already been hit by repeated cloudbursts and floods in recent weeks.
Swollen rivers have flooded the plains, disrupted rail and road travel, forced schools to shut, and halted pilgrimages to several Himalayan shrines. Authorities have warned the situation may continue and urged people to stay very cautious.
The India Meteorological Department (
IMD) has issued red alerts across
Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, northern Punjab, northern Haryana, eastern Rajasthan, southwest Uttar Pradesh, northwest and eastern Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha.
It has warned of flash floods, landslides, and waterlogging as heavy rain continues to lash the region.
Delhi-NCR and Haryana
The National Capital Region has remained drenched for days as unusual heavy showers upended normal life. In Gurugram, waterlogging paralysed traffic, with several city roads and underpasses inundated. Villages came under water after a dam near Kadarpur village in Sector 63 A was damaged.
In Delhi, people living along the Yamuna floodplains moved out as water inundated homes. The Yamuna crossed the danger mark to reach 206.03 metres at 4 pm on Tuesday, forcing closure of the Old Railway Bridge. The city’s Safdarjung station recorded 37.8 mm rainfall in 24 hours, while Palam received 9.1 mm, Lodhi Road 11.4 mm, Ridge 28.2 mm and Ayanagar 5.7 mm.
An official from the Central Flood Control Room warned water levels are likely to rise further, PTI reported.
In Haryana, Yamuna Nagar, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Panchkula, and SAS Nagar have been put on red alert.
Punjab
Punjab is facing its worst floods since 1988, with swollen Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers inundating large swathes. Twelve districts have been hit, claiming 29 lives and affecting over 2.56 lakh people.
CM Bhagwant Singh Mann has ordered all schools, colleges, and polytechnics to remain closed until 7 September.
Amid heavy rainfall in the state, the IMD has issued red alert warning for several districts including Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr, Rupnagar, Moga, Ludhiana, Barnala, and Sangrur.
Rescue and relief work is being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force, Army, BSF, police and local authorities in the affected areas, with over 16,000 people already moved to safer locations.
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh has recorded its highest August rainfall since 1949 with 431.3 mm. Continuous downpours have claimed 340 lives since June 20, including 182 in rain-related incidents, according to SDMA.
Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu declared Himachal a disaster-affected state, assuring Rs 7 lakh for each destroyed home, Rs 70,000 for household items, and compensation for livestock losses.
1,337 roads remain shut, including the Shimla-Kalka railway line. Schools, colleges, and coaching centres in Shimla are closed. Of the total roads that remain shut, 282 are in Mandi, 255 in Shimla, 239 in Chamba, 205 in Kullu and 140 are in the Sirmaur district.
The Manimahesh Yatra has been suspended and 16 pilgrims have died since August 15.
An orange alert has been issued for Kangra, Mandi, Sirmaur and Kinnaur, warning of heavy rains.
Since the start of the monsoon, at least 340 people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents and road accidents, while 41 remain missing, according to SEOC data.
On Monday, the SEOC reported disruptions to 2,180 power transformers and 777 water supply schemes across the state.
Jammu & Kashmir
Incessant rain has left a woman and her daughter dead in Rajouri, while 40 people were trapped in Akhnoor after the Chenab overflowed. SDRF and police launched rescue operations.
In Kulgam, five families were rescued after Vaishov Nalla flooded. The Jammu-Srinagar highway remains closed due to multiple landslides. Pilgrimage to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine has been suspended for nine days following a landslide on August 27 that killed 34 pilgrims.
Between Tuesday morning and Wednesday, Reasi recorded 203 mm rainfall, Katra 193 mm, Batote 157 mm, Doda 114 mm, Banihal 95 mm, Jammu 81 mm, and Rajouri 57.4 mm. A fresh spell in Reasi touched 230.5 mm.
The rains have further raised water levels in rivers, streams and rivulets already flowing near or above the danger mark, while major roads, including the all-weather Srinagar–Jammu national highway, stayed shut for the second day due to multiple landslides and slips between Udhampur and Banihal.
In the past 24 hours, heavy rainfall has caused flooding in several parts of south Kashmir, including Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam.
Over 130 people, mostly pilgrims have lost their lives, more than 120 are left injured and 33 are untraced, since August 14, after a series of cloudbursts, landslides and flashfloods in Kishtwar, Kathua, Reasi and Ramban districts.
Uttarakhand
Schools up to Class 12 and anganwadi centres have been shut in Dehradun and other districts. The Chardham Yatra has been suspended till September 5.
The state has suffered a brutal monsoon, with 79 deaths, 114 injured and 95 missing due to natural disasters. The Ganga, Mandakini and Alaknanda are flowing above danger levels.
The IMD has predicted heavy rainfall in the state from September 2 to 8.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Meteorological Department predicted the possibility of heavy rain in the next 24 hours at several places, with very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and lightning likely in districts such as Dehradun, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar, as well as Haldwani, Rudrapur, Bajpur, Kashipur, Lohaghat, Ramnagar, Khatima, Doiwala, Chakrata, Mussoorie, Raiwala and nearby areas.
All districts in the state are either under a red or an orange alert.
Rajasthan
The desert state of Rajasthan saw heavy rainfall, disrupting daily life in Jaipur and Kota as roads and rail tracks were left submerged. Landslides near Dara railway station forced the halt of nine trains, while waterlogging led to the closure of National Highway-52 between Kota and Jhalawar.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Banswara and Pratapgarh, and a yellow alert for Alwar, Bundi, Baran, Bharatpur and other districts. It has forecast heavy rain in Kota, Udaipur, Ajmer and Bharatpur divisions between September 3 and 5, with rainfall activity expected to intensify in Jodhpur and Bikaner from September 5 to 7.
According to a spokesperson of the Kota railway division, nine trains on the Kota–Mumbai route were halted due to landslips near Dara station. Traffic on NH-52, connecting Kota and Jhalawar, was also suspended following waterlogging in the Dara stream. Meanwhile, heavy morning showers threw normal life out of gear in Jaipur, Dausa and Sikar.
Severe waterlogging in Jaipur left major city roads and low-lying areas submerged, bringing traffic to a standstill and throwing daily life into chaos. Tonk Road, the Walled City areas, Jawahar Nagar, Raja Park, Moti Dungari Road, Gopalpura, Tonk Phatak and Ajmer Road were inundated under four to five feet of water.
Odisha, Bengal and North-East
A fresh low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal has dumped heavy rain in Odisha, inundating Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Kangurkonda bridge between Malkangiri and Motu has been cut off, disrupting road links to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
South Bengal, including Sagar Island, received 120 mm rainfall. IMD warned fisherfolk not to venture into the sea till September 3.
In the northeast, Arunachal Pradesh is bracing for scattered to widespread rainfall over the next five days, with alerts for landslides and flash floods.
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