Cloudburst Strikes Ganderbal In J&K, Heavy Rain Lashes Mumbai, Orange Alert Issued In Odisha — Latest Updates

Several parts of the country were inundated due to heavy rains and cloudbursts which also caused damages in certain areas. India Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert for Mumbai and neighbouring districts while they issued an orange alert for parts of Odisha in the coming week. The recent downpours in Telangana have taken the lives of 18 so far and the relief work is underway while a cloudburst in Jammu and Kashmir have also caused damage in the state but no lives have been lost according to reports.

Mumbai

India Meteorological Department in its five-day weather forecast has issued a yellow alert for Mumbai on August 2 along with neighbouring districts of Raigad and Ratnagiri. Till August 1, the rains will be light to moderate in the city and the intensity is predicted to pick up by mid-week.

According to the reports, a meteorologist told the media that once the low-pressure area weakens from Mumbai and move towards borth-west direction, the impact of this monsoon spell will decrease. 

So far the city recorded over 100 mm of rain for the fourth time on Friday and the intensity weakened by the afternoon that day. Reportedly, he Santacruz observatory recorded 36 mm of rain, while the Colaba observatory received 8 mm and the data received for the rain during Saturday was 18 mm and 7 mm respectively. 

On Saturday morning, the lakes in the city surpassed 70 per cent marl due to the heavy rains. Amid heavy rains lashing the city, lake levels surpassed the 70 per cent mark on Saturday morning. According to the reports, the data obtained from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) reveals that the water levels in the seven lakes that supply water to Mumbai were at 71.84 per cent of their total capacity on Saturday morning. Daily water supply of Mumbai comes from seven different lakes – Tansa, Bhatsa, Modak Sagar, Tulsi, Vehar, Upper Vaitarna and Middle Vaitarna and out of these, four have reached full capacity. Last Thursday evening, Modak Sagar Lake overflowed when it reached its full capacity. Beforehand, Tulsi Vehar and Tansa lakes had also overflowed, reportedly.

Odisha

The IMD has predicted heavy rainfall in the northern and interior areas of the state, as a new low-pressure area has formed over north Odisha and adjoining Gangetic West Bengal on Saturday. 

On Saturday places such as Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Sonepur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal and Boudh experienced some rainfall as per PTI report.

The forecast predicts heavy rainfall at some places of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Dhenkanal, Angul, Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Deogarh, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sonepur, Boudh, Balangir and Kandhamal districts on Sunday. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at one or two places over the districts of Dhenkanal, Angul, Sambalpur, Sonepur, Boudh, Balangir, Kandhamal on July 31 due to the impact of the low pressure, the IMD reportedly said. 

The IMD has issued an orange warning (heavy to very heavy rainfall) from August 1 to 3 for several districts. 

Meanwhile, as many as 18 villages in the districts of Kandhamal and Gajapati have been cut off from the main land due to washing away of connecting roads and bridge. While 15 villages under Phiringia block of Kandhamal district were inundated due to heavy rain since Friday, communication to three villages in Mohana block of Gajapati district have been severed as a temporary wooden bridge over Harabhangi river in the area was washed away.

Telangana

At least 18 people lost their lives in various rain-related incidents due to the downpour that lashed Telangana during the past week, officials said. Relief work gained momentum on Saturday as rainfall came to a halt in many parts of the state.       

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao supervised the relief operations during the day speaking to ministers and Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari, an official release said Saturday night.

A senior official told PTI that 16 people lost their lives in rain-related incidents, while bodies of two villagers who were washed away in floods in a stream in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district two days ago were found on Saturday, police said.

A search operation was on to locate two other villagers who were also feared washed away in the floods, they said.

The Meteorological Centre of IMD here, in its Daily Weather Report of Telangana State (at 8.30 am on July 29), said the southwest monsoon has been weak over Telangana with the state experiencing isolated rains.

Bhainsa in Nirmal district received the highest rainfall of 3 cm, it said. In a press release, the Met Centre said heavy rain is very likely to occur at isolated places in the districts of Adilabad, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Nirmal, Jagityal, Rajanna Sirsilla, Jayashankar Bhupalapally, Mulugu, Bhadradri Kothagudem of Telangana on August 1.

In its forecast and farmers weather bulletin, it said light to moderate rain or thundershowers is very likely to occur at isolated places over Telangana on July 29 and 30. The heavy rains during the past one week led to inundation of low-lying areas and damage to agricultural fields at several places in the state.

Jammu and Kashmir

A cloudburst struck a village in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, causing damage to several houses, a mosque and two schools, officials said.

There are no reports of any loss of human life, PTI reports said.

The cloudburst struck the Gujar-Pati Preng area of the central Kashmir district early Saturday resulting in a heavy discharge of water in the nearby stream, officials said.

According to the preliminary damage report, the cloudburst flooded seven houses, a mosque and two schools with mud, and hampered operations at a hydel power canal, and a lift water project, they said. The district administration took immediate measures to divert the flow of the water and mitigate potential damage, officials said.

The affected people were shifted to a safer location and Rs 10,000 per family was sanctioned from the Red Cross fund as an immediate relief. Essential items, including utensils and blankets, were also given to the families, officials said.