Heavy rains lashed Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) in the wee hours of Wednesday, causing waterlogging in several parts across the city. The India Meteorological Department has issued a 'yellow alert' for the national capital for the day.
Meanwhile, five more people lost their lives in the floods in Tripura, taking the total death toll to 31, an official said on Tuesday.
Notably, as many as 72,000 people are still in the 492 relief camps set up in the state as their homes were washed away in the floods.
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Delhi Weather
Delhi-NCR witnessed heavy rainfall in the early hours of Wednesday, with several areas reporting waterlogging. Visuals from across the city including from Chanakyapuri, Vasant Vihar, show rains pouring incessantly on the roads.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a "yellow alert" for the national capital for Wednesday.
As per the weather department's colour-coded warnings, a yellow alert denotes bad weather and the possibility of worsening conditions that could disrupt daily life.
The IMD said that the maximum temperature is likely to settle around 34 degrees Celsius while the minimum is expected to be at 23 degrees Celsius.
Notably, with rainfall on 23 days, Delhi saw the highest number of rainy days in the last 14 years this August, officials said. The previous highest was 22 days in 2012, followed by 20 days in 2011, as per data from the weather office.
A "rainy day" is when the city receives more than 2.4 mm of rainfall.
Additionally, August this year is also one of the wettest months for Delhi, with the city recording 291.6 mm of rainfall so far -- the highest in the last decade, IMD said.
Tripura Floods: Death Toll Rises To 31
The death toll in the Tripura floods has now risen to 31, with five more losing their lives to the monsoon fury.
Secretary of Revenue Department Birjesh Pande addressed a press conference and said, "Altogether 31 people died in the floods while two others are missing during the devastating floods from August 19 to 23."
He noted that as many as 72,000 people are still in 492 relief camps as their homes were washed away in the floods. Pandey added that five National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and six State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams are engaged in relief works mostly in Gomati and South Tripura districts, the two regions worst-hit by the floods in the northeastern state.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Manik Saha held a meeting with senior officials to review the situation.
He said that an inter-ministerial team led by Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, BC Joshi, will reach the state on Wednesday to assess the losses caused by this calamity.
"There must be an effort to present the true picture of devastation due to the floods before the Central team. The floods have caused a loss of Rs 15,000 crore. However, it may go up after the final assessment," Saha said.
He also underlines the need to highlight the losses in sectors like health, roads, drinking water, agriculture, horticulture, power and irrigation.
Gujarat Rains: 7 Killed, 300 Rescued
Torrential rains continued to pound parts of Gujarat on Tuesday, with at least seven persons dead in rain-related incidents, while over 15,000 persons were evacuated and over 300 were rescued from different districts as administration made efforts to move people to safer locations.
The rain intensity, notably, reduced on Tuesday compared to that of the previous day, with Saurashtra region being the mainly affected one.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel over a phone call and took stock of the situation in the state, getting a detailed brief on the rescue and relief operations.
"He provided guidance on protection of lives and livestock of citizens. Also, Gujarat was assured of providing all necessary support and assistance from the Central Government," the CM said.
He further added, "Hon'ble Prime Minister is constantly monitoring the situation by worrying about Gujarat. He has a deep affection in his heart for the people of Gujarat. During natural calamities and whenever needed, they always stand by Gujarat and the people of Gujarat, providing warmth and invaluable guidance."
The state government, in a press release, noted that six Army columns were deployed for the rescue operations -- one each in Devbhoomi Dwarka, Anand, Vadodara, Kheda, Morbi, and Rajkot districts. Meanwhile, 14 NDRF and 22 SDRF platoons were assisting authorities in the disaster management works.
Of the 7 persons who lost their lives, four persons were killed in wall collapse incidents in Gandhinagar, Kheda and Vadodara districts, while one person died after a tree fell on him and two others drowned in Anand district, the press release said.
So far, more than 23,870 people have been shifted to safe places and 1,696 rescued. Those evacuated in the last two days included 1,200 in Navsari, 800 in Valsad, 200 in Bharuch, 235 in Kheda and 200 in Botad districts, they said.
Relief Commissioner Alok Pandey told media that more than 300 persons had been rescued with the help of Indian Air Force and the Coast Guard. "We have sought IAF helicopters for rescue operations in Morbi and Jamnagar," he added.
Though rains stopped since early Tuesday morning, several parts of Vadodara city and the roads continued to remain waterlogged, forcing people to stay indoors.
"Vishwamitri is flowing above 34 feet, well above the danger mark of 25 feet. As a precautionary measure, the local administration has shifted more than 3,000 people from low-lying areas to safer places," said Vadodara district collector Bijal Shah.
Notably, the weather department has forecast isolated extremely heavy rainfall in the Saurashtra-Kutch region on Wednesday and Thursday.
Isolated places in many districts are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rains till Thursday, the IMD stated.
Heavy Rains Likely In Odisha From Today
As per the IMD forecast, Odisha is likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall in many of its regions during the next four days.
In a special bulletin, the weather office's Bhubaneswar centre said that a low-pressure area is expected to form over east central and adjoining north Bay of Bengal on August 29. It is likely to move towards south Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh coasts during the subsequent two days.
IMD issues heavy rainfall alert for Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Gajapati and Ganjam districts for Wednesday.
Thunderstorms with lightning are expected at some places in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jaipur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, and Nayagarh districts during the day.
An "orange issue" has been issued for Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Rayagada districts for Thursday and Malkangiri and Koraput for Friday.
The Met department also advised fishermen to not venture into the sea along and off Odisha coasts on August 30 and 31.
Himachal Rains, Yellow Alert For 2 Days
Heavy rains lashed several parts of Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, leading to the closure of as many as 126 roads and uprooted trees in the state capital.
The local Met centre issued a 'yellow alert', predicting heavy rains with thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places in the state for the next two days.
In Shimla, school and office goers faced inconvenience on Tuesday morning due to uprooting of trees near Toyland following incessant showers.
Of the total 126 blocked roads, the highest are shut in Mandi at 50, followed by 12 in Solan, 10 in Kangra, six in Kullu, four in Sirmaur and one each in Una, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts.
The emergency operation centre also said that 1,191 power and 27 water supply schemes across the state are also affected.
