Monsoon woes continue to affect people in the country as heavy rains of the season have led to floods, waterlogging, road closures, landslides and traffic congestion across cities amid alerts being issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for further downpour.
While alerts were sounded for southern states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Telangana, a low-pressure area formed over the central and adjoining north Bay of Bengal is also likely to trigger heavy rain in Odisha.
Weather Updates, July 19
Karnataka: Under the influence of a low-pressure area over central and adjoining north Bay of Bengal, isolated extremely heavy rainfall is very likely over coastal and south interior Karnataka for the next three days, the IMD said on Thursday. The IMD has issued a red alert for July 19 and 20 in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada and south interior Karnataka.
Odisha: Heavy rains are likely in Odisha over the next four days with a low-pressure area forming over the Bay of Bengal on Thursday, the weather office said. The low-pressure area formed over the central and adjoining north Bay of Bengal, and it is likely to become more marked over the next two days and move northwestwards towards the Odisha coast, Regional Met Centre director Manorama Mohanty told news agency PTI. "Under its impact, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely in many places across Odisha over the next four days," she said.
Mumbai: Heavy rain since early morning on Friday affected railway and bus services in Mumbai, causing inconvenience to lakhs of office-goers. Incessant rain with intermittent heavy spells led to waterlogging on some roads and railway tracks, slowing down the public transport services. The suburban trains, considered Mumbai's lifeline, are running at least 15 to 20 minutes late, said commuters. A railway official said water has accumulated on tracks at Chunabhatti on the Harbour line due to heavy showers coupled with high tide. Services on the Main line of the Central Railway were delayed due to a technical glitch in a train engine, officials said. In the 24 hours ending at 8 am, Mumbai recorded an average rainfall of 78 mm. The figure for eastern Mumbai and western Mumbai was 57 mm and 67 mm rainfall, respectively, a civic official said.
Kerala: Heavy rains continued to lash several parts of Kerala, especially the hilly areas of its northern Malabar districts on Thursday, disrupting the normal life there. Incidents of flooding, uprooting of trees, property damage and minor landslides were reported from many parts of the northern Kerala districts of Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod where the IMD issued a red alert for the day. The district administration in all three districts declared a holiday for educational institutions on Friday, July 19.
Assam: The flood situation in Assam has been showing signs of improvement with the affected population reducing to about 2.72 lakh, though fresh areas were inundated as the number of deluge-hit districts rose to 13 on Thursday, an official bulletin said on Thursday. Two major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, were still flowing over the danger level at two locations, it said. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) bulletin said number of affected population currently stood at 2,72,037 in 31 revenue circles and 695 villages of 13 districts.
