Two persons were killed and several were injured as heavy rains and high-speed winds lashed Delhi on Monday.
The stormy winds also uprooted hundreds of trees and caused widespread damage across the city and plunged several parts of the national capital into power outages. Several buildings across Delhi were damaged, including the iconic Jama Masjid.
A 50-year-old man died in the Jama Masjid area after a portion of a balcony of a neighbouring house fell on him during the strong winds when he was standing outside his residence. The victim, identified as Kailash, was declared brought dead at Sanjeevan hospital in Daryaganj, as per the police.
A 65-year-old homeless man identified as Basir Baba died after a Peepal tree fell on him in the Angoori Bagh area of North Delhi, the police said.
Three members of a family including a one-year-old child were rescued after a Neem tree fell on a Creta car near Kabootar Market in Chandni Chowk.
The historic Jama Masjid also suffered damage as the finial of its middle dome broke. Its Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari said two people were injured as loose stones fell from one of the minarets and other parts of the mosque.
Police and fire brigade personnel responded to scores of rescue calls as trees fell on vehicles and passersby and incidents of wall-collapse occurred, while civic bodies were busy clearing roads. According to police, 294 calls about fallen trees were received till 8 pm. Eight calls of house collapse were reported by Delhi Fire Services.
Commuters had a difficult time as traffic snarls were reported near ITO, AIIMS flyover, and DND.
At least five flights were also diverted and 70 were delayed at the Delhi airport due to the thunderstorm, officials said. The delayed flights included at least 40 departures, they said.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena visited some of the affected places.
"Till 7.15 PM, a total of 101 complaints were received about uprooted trees and broken branches. Work is on to clear the areas where such incidents have been witnessed. Several areas, including Bhagwan Das Road, Connaught Place, SP Marg, have already been cleared," a senior NDMC official said.
People shared visuals of broken windows, damaged homes, and fallen trees on social media.
Ashish Kumar Singh, a journalist with ABP News, described it as "near death experience" as billboards flying with the winds hit his car from all sides.
People shared visuals of broken windows at their homes, fallen trees, and damaged houses in their neighbourhood.
Journalist Nistula Hebber shared visuals of air conditioner dangling at the Express Building on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg after the rains.
Several trees were also uprooted inside the Jamia Millia Islamia where the walls of a building were also damaged, officials said, adding that many solar panels installed in the administrative block were blown away by the winds.
The walls of Zakir Husain Memorial suffered damage due to the heavy downpour. Almost 200-300 trees would have suffered damage across the campus. The road outside the university campus witnessed traffic snarls.
The heavy rains and wind also damaged flags installed by the Delhi government at various locations.
Large hoardings were also brought down by the wind in Delhi, damaging the road and vehicles in their vicinity.
Fallen trees on both sides of the road were also seen at Madhavrao Scindia Marg in Lutyens Delhi.
The wind was so strong that an air conditioners fell off a building on the Parliament Street, causing damage to cars and auto-rickshaws.
Commuters had a difficult time as traffic snarls were reported near ITO, AIIMS flyover, and DND.
"Traffic is affected on MB Road (Both carriageway) due to waterlogging at Railway Underpass Pul Prahladpur. Kindly avoid the stretch," the Delhi Traffic Police said in a tweet.
(With PTI inputs)
