Heavy rain that started in the wee hours of Friday continued for hours in Delhi and adjoining areas of Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram, leading to severe waterlogging, massive traffic jams in several parts of the cities and a tragic roof-collapse incident at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) which killed one person and injured four others.
Southwest Monsoon has entered Delhi, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced on Friday, June 28, amid record rain that brought the city to a standstill due to severe waterlogging and traffic jams. According to the IMD, Delhi recorded 228 mm of rainfall from 8:30 AM on Thursday to 8:30 AM on Friday, the highest 24-hour rainfall in June since 1936.
IMD later said its Safdarjung Airport observatory recorded 234.5mm rainfall between June 1 to June 28, the third highest in last 124 years, according to the MET department.
While roads near busy areas like ITO, Saket, Moolchand, Aurobindo Road to IIT flyover, Barapullah flyover and Noida Sector 62 saw traffic jams due to waterlogging, one person died in a roof-collapse incident at Terminal 1 of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) on Friday.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) defines very heavy rain as rainfall amounting to between 124.5 and 244.4 mm in a day.
From waterlogging to traffic snarls to power cuts and airport operations, read on for key updates:
Delhi-NCR Rain | Waterlogging, Traffic Hit In These Routes
People on foot and vehicles were seen wading through water at: the ITO area, Sarita Vihar, Moolchand, parts of Connaught Place and Minto Bridge, Saket Metro Station, Sarita Vihar, Aurobindo Road to IIT flyover, Madhu Vihar area, Noida Sector 62, National Highway (NH9) and some parts of UP's Ghaziabad as well.
Delhi's Pragati Maidan Tunnel was also closed due to rain-triggered waterlogging.
Udyog Vihar, Sheetla Mata Road and several other areas in Haryana's Gurugram were also waterlogged, leading to slow traffic movement there.
Traffic snarls were also reported at the above mentioned areas. Drone visuals from parts of Delhi also showed the waterlogging situation.
Delhi government held an emergency meeting at 2 pm on Friday at the Secretariat over heavy rainfall and waterlogging. All ministers of Delhi government and officers from departments concerned were present at the meeting. Officials said Delhi L-G VK Saxena directed revenue department to activate disaster response cell under Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in case of excessive rainfall.
Delhi Traffic | Key Updates
As per Delhi Traffic Police's updates posted on microblogging platform X, traffic was affected at these areas on Friday morning after heavy rain caused waterlogging and uprooted trees:
Service road in the carriageway from Dwarka Expressway towards Police Station Sector 23, Dwarka due to uprooting of a tree.
P Marg, BSZ Marg and Vikash Marg due to waterlogging and breakdown of vehicles at Tilak Bridge underpass (W-Point).
Outer Ring road in the carriageway from Bhera Enclave Roundabout towards Peeragarhi due to waterlogging near Peeragarhi Village road.
Minto Road in both the carriageways from Kamla Market towards Connaught Place and vice-versa due to waterlogging at Minto Bridge underpass.
Traffic was affected in the carriageway from Jwala Heri Market towards Madipur due to uprooting of a tree opposite Jwala Heri Market.
Traffic was affected in both the carriageways from Akshardham towards Ghaziabad and vice-versa due to waterlogging at roundabout Murga Mandi, Ghazipur Border.
Traffic was affected on Road No. 13 in both the carriageways from Kalindi Kunj towards Crown Plaza and vice-versa due to waterlogging at Okhla underpass.
Traffic was affected on Mathura Road in the carriageway from Ashram towards Badarpur due to uprooting of a tree
Traffic was affected on Rohtak road in both the carriageways from Rajdhani Park towards Mundka and vice-versa due to waterlogging
Traffic was affected on W-Point Tilak Bridge road in both the carriageways from A-Point to W-Point and vice-versa due to waterlogging below Tilak Bridge W-point
Traffic was affected on Outer Ring road in both the carriageways from Shantivan towards ISBT and vice-versa due to waterlogging near Y-point Saleemgarh and Nigambodh Ghat
Traffic was affected on Aurobindo Marg in both the carriageways from INA towards AIIMS and vice-versa due to waterlogging under AIIMS Flyover
Traffic was affected in both the carriageways on Vir Banda Bairagi Marg due to waterlogging at Azad Market underpass
Traffic was affected on Ring Road in both the carriageways from Naraina towards Moti Bagh and vice-versa due to waterlogging under Dhaula Kuan Flyover
Traffic was affected on Anuvrat Marg in both the carriageways from 100 Foota Red Light and Lado Sarai Red Light and vice-versa due to waterlogging. Kindly plan your journey accordingly.
1 Dead In Delhi Airport Roof Collapse | IGI Updates
One person died and five were injured after a portion of the roof of the Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport's Terminal-1 collapsed on cars, including taxis, amid heavy rain early Friday, Delhi Fire Services (DFS) officials said. Visuals of aftermath of the incident showed a cab driver stuck in his mangled vehicle with a portion of the roof on it.
T1 has only domestic flight operations by IndiGo and SpiceJet. The airport -- which has three terminals T1, T2 and T3 -- handles around 1,400 flight movements daily.
Departures and arrivals at IGI Airport Terminal 1 were halted after the roof-collapse incident. The operations have been halted till further notice.
All departing and arriving flights from Terminal 3 and Terminal 2 were fully operational.
ALSO READ | Delhi Airport Roof Collapses: 1 Dead, 5 Injured; Terminal 1 Flight Departures Suspended Till 2 PM
Flights of T1 were diverted to T2 (Terminal 2) and T3 (Terminal 3). Passengers were advised to be in contact with their Airlines for complete information.
IndiGo Airlines said all of its flight from Terminal 1 were cancelled till midnight. In a post on X, IndiGo had said on Friday morning: "Passengers already inside the terminal will be able to board their planned flights, but those with flights later in the day will be offered alternatives. This unplanned situation has also led to operations across the network being impacted. Customers are advised to keep a track of and confirm their flight status before leaving for the airport," IndiGo said.
Some SpiceJet flights were also cancelled from Terminal 1 of Delhi Airport.
Aviation regulator DGCA issued an advisory for airlines to accommodate passengers on alternate flights or provide full refunds under the regulations.
Due to heavy rains, entry/exit was closed at Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector - 25 Metro station.
Shuttle service from Delhi Aerocity Metro station to Terminal 1-IGI Airport was suspended.
Officials said a search operation was conducted to make sure no one was trapped in the damaged vehicles.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI) Usha Rangnani said traffic going to T-1 departure of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport has been diverted at CISF check post, towards T-1 arrival.
Three fire-tenders were sent to the airport after a call about the incident was received by the DFS around 5:30 am.
Besides the roof sheet, the support beams collapsed, damaging the cars parked in the pick-up and drop area of the terminal, the officials said.
Power Cuts In Delhi
Due to heavy rains in Delhi, power supply was disrupted in several parts of the city on Friday morning, officials said. Power disruption was caused due to technical faults and precautionary shutdown in the city's waterlogged areas, the officials of power distribution companies (discoms) operating in Delhi said.
Residents of Dwarka, Jangpura and Laxmi Nagar said the power supply was cut as soon as it started raining in their areas.
A discom official said the rain caused damages to power lines, poles and other installations in different parts of the national capital causing the outages. However, repair works to restore the supply were undertaken immediately, he added.
In many areas, the electricity supply was temporarily discontinued to prevent incidents of electrocution, the official said.
