The Yamuna water level crossed the danger mark of 205.33 metres in Delhi on Tuesday after heavy rains in upstream regions in the past two days.
The Yamuna water level was recorded at 205.39 metres at 10 pm on Tuesday, according to data from the Central Water Commission (CWC).
Earlier on 3 pm, the CWC recorded Yamuna water level crossing the warning mark of 204.5 metres.
A CWC official told PTI that the water level is predicted to reach 205.5 metres by 5 am on Wednesday and rise further during the day.
"However, the river may not swell to the evacuation level of 206.00 metres in Delhi unless the hilly region receives more rain," said official to PTI.
The surge in Yamuna water level has come at a time when upstream states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are witnessing record-breaking devastating rains. In the past two days, 60 people have died in Himachal in a string of rain-related incidents such as landslides, building-collapses, and cloudbursts. Shimla and Mandi are the worst-hit with 18 and 19 deaths respectively.
The flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana's Yamunanagar district stood around 27,000 cusecs at 9 pm, considered moderate during the monsoon season, reported PTI.
An official of the Delhi government's irrigation and flood control department told PTI that low-level flooding may occur at a few places along the river but a grave situation is unlikely.
Besides Himachal, heavy rains have also ravaged Uttarakhand over the past two days, destroying buildings and causing landslides that breached the national highways to Badrinath, Kedarnath and Gangotri shrines, reported PTI.
"Most of the rivers are overflowing due to the rain. The Ganga is flowing above the danger mark in Tehri, Haridwar and Rishikesh. The Alaknanda and the Mandakini are flowing above the danger level in Rudraprayag, Srinagar and Devprayag, the disaster control room in Uttarakhand's Dehradun said," reported PTI.
This is for the second time in around one month's time that Yamuna's water level has crossed the danger-mark in Delhi. In mid-July, Yamuna spilled over into the city and caused unprecedented flooding in the city when the overflowing river mingled with severe waterlogging in the national capital. For days, the city was at a standstill as roads turned into lakes and several thousands had to take shelter in makeshift dwellings as their houses were inundated. Three water treatment plants were also shut and water supply to large parts of the capital was also affected.
"The Yamuna swelled to a record 208.66 metres on July 13, breaching its previous record and penetrating deeper into the city than in more than four decades. Over 27,000 people were evacuated during the floods with the losses incurred in terms of property, businesses and earnings running up to crores of rupees. The river flowed above the danger mark of 205.33 metres for eight days on the trot, starting July 10," reported PTI.
Experts have attributed the flooding in Delhi to systemic encroachment of Yamuna floodplains over several decades. This encroachment along with extreme rainfall within a short span of time and silt accumulation led to unprecedented flooding, noted PTI.
