Weather Updates: 37 killed as heavy rains batter north India; Army, NDRF teams step in for rescue ops

The ballast beneath the tracks on Central Railway's Murtijapur-Mana route was washed away due to heavy rains in Akola on Monday, an official said. Several trains had to be short terminated after the incident took place near Hirpur gate at 6pm, he said. Among the trains that were short terminated were 12139 CSMT-Nagpur Express at Bhusawal station, 01140 Madgaon-Nagpur Express at Akola station, 12112 Amravati-CSMT Express at Badnera station. He said the 11121 Bhusawal-Wardha Express was halted at Murtijapur station and cancelled, while some trains were diverted via Nagpur, Itarsi, Khandwa, Bhusawal and other routes.

Eight people were killed in rain-related incidents in the past 24 hours following heavy rainfall in Uttar Pradesh as continued showers disrupted normal life in different districts of the state. The Met office here said southwest monsoon remained active over western region and normal over eastern districts resulting in light to moderate rain/thundershowers accompanied with thunderstorm and lightning at a few places over east UP and most places in western part of the state. Heavy to very heavy rain occurred at isolated places over western areas, it said.

Nearly 60 structures have been declared dangerous in a survey of buildings conducted by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi recently, a senior official said on Monday. Mayor Shelly Oberoi visited the central control room of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Monday to take stock of the preparations, days after incessant rains left several areas in the city waterlogged. The survey by the civic body began before the monsoon to identify such structures and take corrective measures. The exercise was undertaken till July 6. Because of unprecedented rain in Delhi, all engineering staff have been asked to keep a vigil on buildings and other structures in their zones, the MCD said. 

There was no let-up in the monsoon fury in Himachal Pradesh on Monday with flash floods and landslides claiming 18 lives over the past two days, affecting most hydropower projects and destroying property worth hundreds of crores of rupees. Officials said over 300 tourists and local people are stranded in Chandertal, Pagal Nallah and other places in Lahaul and Spiti, while teams of National Disaster Response Force, police and home guard rescued 515 labourers from waterlogged slum areas at Lalsingi in Una district. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said efforts are on to rescue the 300 stranded people, and they could be airlifted as the weather clears. Power and water supply has been snapped in several areas.

Intense monsoon rains brought normal life to a standstill in several parts of eastern and central Rajasthan, flooding out roads, rail tracks, low-lying residential areas and hospitals and claiming seven lives since Sunday night. More showers are expected to lash around a dozen districts on Tuesday. A seven-year-old boy was swept away on Monday in the gushing waters of an overflowing drain in the Murlipura area in state capital Jaipur, where several areas reeled from waterlogging. Three deaths due to drowning were reported from Ajmer, two from Nagaur and one from Tonk. Secretary of disaster management and relief department P C Kishan said that very heavy rainfall occurred in areas of Sirohi, Ajmer, Pali and Karauli districts but there was no flood-like situation.

Nine people have died in rain-related incidents in Punjab and Haryana as incessant showers battered the two states for the third day in a row, flooding many places and sending authorities scrambling for rescue operations. The Punjab government has ordered the closure of schools till July 13 while in Chandigarh schools are closed till Thursday. Haryana too has ordered the closure of schools in some worst-affected districts till Wednesday. In other places of the state, the government has left it to the deputy commissioners to take a call on the matter after assessing the situation.

Incessant rains played havoc for the third consecutive day on Monday in parts of north India, particularly Himachal Pradesh where landslides claimed four more lives even as the Army and NDRF teams stepped in to intensify the relief and rescue operations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken with chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand about the situation and assured them of all help and support from the central government. Modi also spoke with senior ministers and officials and took stock of the situation in the wake of excessive rainfall in parts of the country, his office said.

Heavy rain washed out roads and forced evacuations in the Northeast on Monday as more downpours were forecast throughout the day. One person in New York drowned as she was trying to leave her home. The slow-moving storm reached New England in the morning after hitting parts of New York and Connecticut. Heavy downpours with possible flash flooding were forecast in parts of Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. One of the worst hit places was New York's Hudson Valley, where rescuers found the body of a woman in her 30s whose home was surrounded by water. The force of the flash flooding dislodged boulders, which rammed the woman's house and damaged part of its wall, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus told The Associated Press. Two other people escaped. “She was trying to get through (the flooding) with her dog,” Neuhaus said, “and she was overwhelmed by tidal-wave type waves.”

Incessant rains over the past four days have damaged public facilities worth around Rs 75 crore in Kangra, District Collector Nipun Jindal said on Monday. Earlier in the day, the deputy commissioner apprised Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu of the current situation in the district during a video conference meeting. Addressing reporters here after the meeting, Jindal said owing to torrential rains from July 6 to July 9, the district suffered losses of Rs 75 crore, of which the Public Works Department (PWD) incurred a loss of about Rs 31 crore. A total of 66 roads maintained by the PWD were damaged or blocked due to landslides or tree felling, out of which 63 roads have been restored. In addition, 14 more roads in the district got blocked on Monday, Jindal added.

The Pragati Maidan tunnel here remained closed for traffic due to waterlogging for the second consecutive day on Monday, officials said. According to Public Works Department (PWD) officials, work is underway to pump out the water to ensure that the tunnel can be opened for traffic movement by Tuesday. The tunnel connecting Pragati Maidan to the transit corridor is temporarily closed due to the occurrence of significant waterlogging, the Delhi Traffic Police said.

A road collapsed at Kokunala in the Kotkhai subdivision of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. 

Haryana: All schools in Panchkula are to be closed on the 11th and 12th of July due to consistent rainfall in the area, said District Education Officer. 

Despite the third consecutive day of suspension of the Amarnath Yatra, pilgrims remain undeterred and optimistic about visiting the holy cave shrine even if it means waiting for days. The yatra has been suspended due to extensive damage caused to a section of the Jammu-Srinagar Highway in Ramban, with more than 7,000 stranded pilgrims in Jammu, primarily at the Bhagwati Nagar base camp, and an additional 5,000 stranded at the Chanderkot base camp in Ramban district. Authorities said incessant rains on Saturday and Sunday caused unprecedented damage to the highway, especially a stretch in Ramban district, forcing its closure. "Our spirits are high. We are willing to wait for ten more days if needed, but we refuse to return home without performing darshan of the ice-lingam of Lord Shiva at Amarnath," said Pramodh Gupta, a devotee from Punjab told PTI here.

A water crisis looms large over the capital city of Himachal Pradesh with heavy rains in the past few days damaging supply schemes and causing silt in water resources. According to Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Limited (SJPNL) officials, the city received 11.03 mld (million litre per day) on Monday against the average 42-45 mld. They said it would take three to four days for the water supply to get normalised as flooding has hampered the supply operations. Water is supplied to Shimla from six sources -- Gumma, Giri, Churot, Seog, Chairh and Koti Brandi -- and the supply from Gumma and five other sources was 7.82 mld and 3.21 mld, respectively.

A total of 39 NDRF teams have been deployed in four north Indian states to tackle the heavy rains and floods that have been battering these regions since Saturday, a senior officer said on Monday. While 14 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are working in Punjab, a dozen are deployed in Himachal Pradesh, eight in Uttarakhand and five in Haryana, he said. "The rescue operations are being undertaken as per the situation on ground and in coordination with the state authorities," an NDRF spokesperson said. The teams, with about 30-35 rescuers in each, are equipped with inflatable boats, ropes, tree cutters and other essential tools to launch rescue and relief operations, another officer said.

Landslides claimed four more lives in Shimla and the Shimla-Kalka highway was blocked Monday morning as heavy rains wreaked havoc in the hill state for the third day, police said. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said 16 or 17 people were killed in rain-related incidents in the state in the last two days. Twenty people stranded in Himachal Pradesh's tourist town of Manali were rescued but about 300 others were stuck across various parts of the hill state, officials said. Three people died after a landslide struck a house in Theog subdivision of Shimla on Monday morning. The incident occurred in Pallavi village and the deceased were identified as Deep Bahadur, Devdasi and Mohan Bahadur, police said.

A 32-year-old parking attendant died while a 'paan' shop owner was injured after a boundary wall collapsed due to heavy rain in Sunder Nagar here, police said on Monday. According to police, information was received on Sunday that a boundary wall at Mathura Road, Sunder Nagar has collapsed due to heavy rain. "Our team reached the spot, hired a private JCB excavator machine and started to remove the debris of the wall. Two people were rescued in an injured condition and sent to hospital," Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Rajesh Deo said.

Several parts of Gurugram remained waterlogged on Monday even as the intensity of rains reduced over the past 24 hours. The city received light showers on Monday afternoon but no traffic congestion was reported. Despite water being drained out from the main carriageway of the Delhi-Jaipur highway and some other roads, several parts of Gurugram, including Mahavir Chowk, Arjun Nagar, Sector 51, Sohna Road, Pratap Nagar, and low-lying houses in DLF phases 1 and 3, Palam Vihar, Sectors 4, 5, 9, 10A, 48 and Suncity Township remained waterlogged on Monday.

IMD on Monday issued Red Alert for Chandigarh, Panchkula (Haryana) and Mohali (Punjab). According to weathermen heavy rainfall is expected in the next three hours.

SSP Mandi speaks to natives living along river Beas to vacate their houses as the river in spate continues to cause damage

Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh says, "...Due to the heavy rainfall in northern India over the past 2 days, Himachal Pradesh has suffered huge losses...We have deployed around 342 machines across the state (to clear debris off roads). 

At 1 pm, the water level of the river was recorded at 204.63 m. At 1 pm, 1,90,837 cusecs of water were released from the Hathinikund barrage into Yamuna, reported news agency ANI.

"We're expecting upto 12 cm rainfall in Delhi, it might be more, we're monitoring... there is a yellow alert for Delhi today...tomorrow onwards we're expecting rain to abate slightly over the north-west Himalayan region...": Soma Sen, Scientist, IMD Delhi

Portion of a bridge washed away in the Baddi Nalagarh Industrial Area of Solan amid incessant rainfall in Himachal Pradesh.

At 12 noon, water level of the river recorded at 204.36 metres at Old Railway Bridge. The warning level of the river is 204.50 metres. The situation is arising due to the continuous release of water into the river, from Hathinkund Barrage. At 12 noon, 2,17,003 cusecs of water has been released from the Barrage.

Heavy rainfall continues in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district

Amid heavy rainfall, many state governments have announced school holidays for the next few days. States including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Haryana among others. Check full list

Portion of a building in Mohali collapsed due to heavy rain

PWD (Public Works Department) Minister Atishi inspects Yamuna River

Under the impact of incessant rainfall in Himachal Pradesh, Lagghati Khad in Kullu swells.

Pragati Maidan Tunnel in Delhi temporarily closed for traffic amid waterlogging in several parts of the city, due to incessant rainfall.

Due to continuous rainfall in Kumaon, Tanakpur-Pithoragarh route blocked at a few locations. The work of clearing the road on NH 9 All Weather Road is underway by the administration. Meanwhile, passengers too remove the boulders to clear the route. 

Latest visuals from Mandi around Victoria Bridge, Panchvakhtra Temple and another bridge that has been damaged following incessant heavy rainfall

Visuals from Chandigarh-Kiratpur highway

The water level rises in Yamuna River after heavy rainfall in the region.

Amid incessant rainfall lashing the hill state, Solan received 135 mm of rain on Sunday, breaking a 50-year-old record of 105 mm of rain in a day in 1971, while Una received the highest rainfall after 1993. 

20 Kullu locals were stranded in between markets on Monday. Air Force teams began rescue operations in Himachal Pradesh.

"Moderate to heavy rainfall accompanied with thunderstorms is very likely to continue in the districts of Bilaspur, Solan, Shimla, Sirmaur, Una, Hamirpur, Mandi and Kullu at most places and very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places. Light to moderate rainfall is likely to occur at a few places in the rest of the districts," said IMD. 

SDRF rescued over 36 people who were stranded at different places near Ujh river due to flash floods. 

Rescue operation underway to rescue four people, who are stranded in the Narmada River in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh

Schools in Punjab's Ludhiana will remain closed today in view of heavy rains, said office of the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana.

Severe waterlogging witnessed in various parts of Ajmer, following heavy rainfall in the region.

Uttar Pradesh: Flood-like situation in several villages of Moradabad due to rise in water level in Dhela river following heavy rainfall

Himachal Pradesh: Operation underway to rescue 6 people stranded in Nagwai due to the rise in water level of the Beas River following incessant rainfall in the state.