The death toll in flood-hit Maharashtra rose to 207 on Tuesday and heavy rains coupled with discharge of water from the Koyna dam forced the evacuation of lakhs of people while the northern states received widespread showers with Delhi recording the highest rainfall in a day for July in eight years. The meteorological department has forecast heavy rain in Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal over the next few days under the influence of a low pressure that has formed over the Bay of Bengal.
Monsoon may have arrived late in Delhi, but it is inundating the capital now. The city has recorded 381 mm rainfall so far this month, the highest for July since 2003 and the second-highest ever. The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, recorded 100 mm rainfall in just three hours on Tuesday morning, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
It is also the maximum rainfall in 24 hours in the month of July in eight years. In 2013, Delhi had received 123.4 mm rains on July 21. The monsoon, the most delayed in 19 years, is now drenching Delhi, flooding low-lying areas and causing long traffic snarls. The maximum temperature in the national capital was 29.4 degrees Celsius — five notches below the normal.
The death toll in rain-related incidents in Maharashtra rose to 207 with the worst-hit Raigad district alone accounting for nearly 100 fatalities, while 11 people are still missing, the state government said. Heavy rains last week caused massive floods and landslides in large parts of the state, especially in the coastal Konkan and western Maharashtra regions.
Out of the 207 deaths caused due to heavy rains and floods since last week, the maximum 95 were from Raigad district followed by 45 in Satara, 35 in Ratnagiri, 12 in Thane, 7 in Kolhapur, 4 in Mumbai suburban, 3 in Pune, two each in Sindhudurg, Wardha and Akola districts, said a statement of the state disaster management department. Since June 1, as many as 294 people have died in rain-related incidents in Maharashtra, it said.
Local officials are struggling to expedite the rescue operations because of the difficult terrain and showers, said an official from the disaster management department. Rains over the Sahyadri mountains, which are parts of the Western Ghats have increased the water level of rivers flowing through Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur districts, forcing the administration to evacuate more people.
As many as 3,75,178 people have been evacuated so far, of which 2,06,619 are from Sangli alone, the statement said. Sangli district did not receive heavy rainfall, but a heavy discharge of water from a dam on the Koyna river in Satara district resulted in Sangli city and several villages getting flooded.
In Thane district’s Bhiwandi, two senior citizens were injured when a portion of an old two-storey house collapsed due to heavy rains. Up north, temperatures hovered below normal limits at most places in Punjab and neighbouring Haryana where some areas were lashed by rains.
Haryana’s Ambala recorded a maximum temperature of 32.1 degrees Celsius, while Hisar registered a high of 33.8 degrees Celsius. Punjab’s Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Faridkot and Bathinda recorded their respective maximum temperatures at 30.8 degrees Celsius, 30.7 degrees Celsius, 31.8 degrees Celsius, 33.5 degrees Celsius and 32.5 degrees Celsius. Light to moderate rains also occurred at a few places over eastern Uttar Pradesh and at isolated places in the western part of the state.
However, a 26 per cent deficit rainfall has been recorded in Rajasthan this monsoon season so far with only 11 out of 33 districts receiving a normal amount of rain between June 1 and July 26, according to a meteorological department report. In the past one day, widespread rainfall occurred in eastern parts of the state and at a few places in the western parts.
Baran, Jhalawar, Kota, Pratapgarh, Bharatpur, Alwar Karauli and Jaipur recorded heavy to very heavy rainfall with Chhabra in Baran receiving a maximum of 22 cm of rains till Tuesday morning, according to the MeT department. Atru in Baran recorded 12 cm of rainfall while Gangdhar in Jhalawar and Sangod in Kota gauged 11 cm of rain each. The southwest monsoon is active in most parts of the state as of Tuesday and heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at one or two places in Alwar, Karauli and Sawaimadhopur districts. There is no rainfall warning for Wednesday and Thursday.
In the east, light to moderate rain occurred at many places over the districts of south-interior Odisha and at a few places over the other regions over the past 24 hours. The IMD has forecast widespread light to moderate rainfall activity, with isolated heavy to very heavy showers, across Odisha till Friday. Fisherfolks have been advised not to venture into deep seas, and along and off the Odisha coast till July 30.
Also, fairly widespread rainfall is very likely over Konkan and Goa, and the Ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra during the next three days, it said.
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