Rain fury across north and northwest India claimed at least 32 lives in the last 48 hours as heavy downpours caused landslides, traffic chaos and house collapses. A dam breach in Haryana left several villages flooded while the Amarnath Yatra was suspended in Jammu and Kashmir.
Rajasthan was the worst hit, reporting 17 deaths in two days (August 10 and 11). In Punjab, nine people, including eight members of a family, were killed in Hoshiarpur as their vehicle was swept away by an overflowing seasonal rivulet.
Three girls were killed and one person was missing in Himachal Pradesh, where landslides and flash floods have led to the closure of more than 280 roads. Officials said 458 power and 48 water supply schemes are also affected.
Two deaths were reported from Uttar Pradesh’s Jalaun as a woman and her seven-year-old son were killed after the roof of their house collapsed in the Koch area following heavy rains.
A seven-year-old boy drowned in a waterlogged park in Rohini’s Sector 20 as heavy rains lashed central, south, southwest and east Delhi. Severe waterlogging and traffic snarls were reported on several stretches.
Late on Sunday (August 11), the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said “exceptionally heavy rainfall” was observed over Rajasthan’s Karauli (38cm), while heavy to very heavy rainfall was observed at isolated places over Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Punjab, Haryana and Bihar.
Rajasthan
According to officials in Rajasthan’s Jaipur, the torrential rains created a flood-like situation in Karauli and Hinduan. Jaipur reported waterlogging at several places.
Seven men drowned while bathing in a river in Bharatpur. In Jhunjhunu, three people drowned while bathing in a pond in Mehrana village.
In Karauli, a man and his 12-year-old son were killed after getting trapped under the debris of their house that collapsed due to heavy rain.
In another incident, a 19-year-old nursing student died after he slipped and fell into the Kedia stream in Banswara and was swept away by the strong current of the water. In Sawai Madhopur, a 35-year-old man drowned in a pond. The man was under the influence of alcohol, when he slipped and fell into the water body.
Karauli district, situated around 200 km from the state capital Jaipur, is among the worst affected. “There is a flood-like situation in Hinduan and Karauli where 15-inch rainfall was recorded from Saturday night till Sunday afternoon,” Anand Kumar, additional chief secretary, disaster management and relief department told PTI.
Five people are missing after they were swept away at the Kanota Dam in Jaipur. A rescue operation has been launched to trace them. “Safety of all citizens of Rajasthan – our top priority. Today, a meeting of the officials was held in the chief minister’s office regarding the heavy rains in the state and necessary guidelines were given to strengthen all the arrangements related to disaster management immediately,” CM Bhajanlal Sharma posted on X.
Punjab
Nine people, including eight members of a family, died and two others went missing after their vehicle got swept away by the flooded Jaijon Choe, which is a seasonal rivulet in Hoshiarpur.
Police said 11 members of the family and their driver were travelling in the SUV from Dehra near Mehatpur in Una district of Himachal Pradesh to Mehrowal village in Punjab’s SBS Nagar district to attend a wedding. As they were crossing the Jaijon Choe, which was in spate due to heavy rain, their vehicle was swept away, they said.
Some local residents even warned the driver not to cross the choe because of strong water current in the rivulet but he ignored this and moved ahead, said police. One person was rescued.
Hoshiarpur deputy commissioner Komal Mittal said a team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been deployed. Senior superintendent of police Surendra Lamba said nine bodies, including those of five females, were recovered.
Rains lashed other parts of the state as well while Haryana also received heavy showers. Mohali, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Rupnagar and Ambala were among the places that received rainfall. Pathankot received 82 mm of rainfall, Gurdaspur 68.8 mm and Amritsar 57.6 mm in the last 24 hours, which ended at 8.30 am.
Himachal Pradesh
Two girls – aged four and seven – and an 18-year-old woman were killed and a person went missing after being washed away in a flash flood in Una as heavy rains wreaked havoc. A search is on to trace the missing person.
Seven members of a family, who were stranded near Katasan village in Sirmour district’s Paonta Sahib due to the rising Markanda river, were rescued by the district administration after 13 hours.
Una district deputy commissioner Jatin Lal along with other officials visited rain-affected areas and appealed to the people to stay away from rivers and rivulets. Water from overflowing streams has entered several houses while the police in Lahaul and Spiti issued an advisory for local residents and travellers to exercise extreme caution and not to cross the Jahalman Nallah as its water level is “rapidly” rising.
The emergency operation centre said landslides took place in Chamba, Bilaspur, Shimla, Kullu and Solan districts. Kinnaur district was cut off from Shimla following flash floods between Pooh and Kaurik and a landslide on national highway 5 near Negulsariin. Officials said 96 roads were closed in Mandi, 76 in Shimla, 37 in Kullu, 33 in Sirmaur, 26 in Chamba, seven in Lahaul and Spiti, five in Hamirpur, and four each in Kangra and Kinnaur.
Rescue operations to trace about 30 people who went missing after the July 31 flash floods in Kullu, Mandi and Shimla districts are still on without any major success. So far, 28 bodies have been recovered. More than 100 people have been killed in rain-related incidents, and the state has suffered losses of about Rs 842 crore between June 27 and August 9.
Haryana
In Haryana, several villages in Yamunanagar district were inundated following a breach in the embankment of Som river. The affected villages are Kanuwala, Bamnoli, Malikpur Bangar, Lalahadi and Manakpur of Yamunanagar district.
At least 3 to 4 feet deep water entered Khanuwala village, forcing many residents to move to safer places. Agricultural fields were submerged and officials said the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has been called in.
(With PTI inputs)
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