New Delhi schools close after India monsoon floods kill scores

New Delhi: Schools in New Delhi were closed on Monday after heavy monsoon rains battered the Indian capital and caused landslides and flash floods in the country’s north, killing scores of people over the last three days.

The torrential rain over the weekend left parts of New Delhi overflowing with water that submerged roads and stranded residents. The northern hill states were the worst affected, with 10 people killed in flash floods and landslides in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand states, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

One person died in New Delhi and four were killed in Kashmir.

Landslides triggered by the rains disrupted traffic on key highways in Uttarakhand, a tourist hill state in the Himalayas, prompting warnings for residents not to venture out of their homes unless necessary. Authorities used helicopters to rescue people while bridges and houses were swept away in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.

India’s weather agency has forecast more heavy rains in the north in the coming days. It said monsoon rains across the country have already brought about 2% more rainfall than normal.

PM talks to ministers, officials

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke with ministers and officials and took stock of the situation in the wake of excessive rainfall in parts of India.

The national and state disaster response teams are working to assist people affected by rain.

“PM @narendramodi spoke to senior Ministers and officials, and took stock of the situation in the wake of excessive rainfall in parts of India. Local administrations, NDRF and SDRF teams are working to ensure the well-being of those affected,” PMO said in a tweet.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday appealed to people to stay home for the next 24 hours amid the possibility of heavy rains during the period.

Incessant rain in UP claims 36 people in 24 hrs

Incessant rains in Uttar Pradesh have claimed 36 lives in the last 24 hours.

Expressing grief over the loss of lives, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given instructions to immediately distribute a relief amount of Rs 400,000 each to the families of the deceased and provide proper treatment to those injured in various natural calamities.

Uttar Pradesh has already received 11 per cent excess rainfall during this monsoon season, causing a rise in river water levels, hitting traffic movement in cities, and inundating farms in rural pockets.

According to information from the relief commissioner’s office, 17 people died due to lightning, 12 due to drowning, and seven due to heavy rainfall in the state in the last 24 hours.

Rainfall was witnessed in around 68 of the state’s 75 districts, according to India Metrological Department (IMD) data.

In the last 24 hours alone, the state received 56 per cent higher than normal or “excess” rainfall - 13.6 mm against the normal of 8.7 mm, the weather data showed.

India regularly witnesses severe floods during the monsoon season, which runs between June and September and brings most of South Asia’s annual rainfall. The rains are crucial for rain-fed crops planted during the season but often cause extensive damage.

Scientists say monsoons are becoming more erratic due to climate change and global warming, leading to frequent landslides and flash floods in India’s Himalayan north.

In neighboring Pakistan, which has also been pelted by monsoon rains, authorities were on alert for the season’s first flooding.

Evacuations were underway from the lowlands in eastern Punjab province, according to Pakistan’s disaster management agency. More than 150 people were moved overnight from the villages in Narowal and Sialkot, officials said.

At least 76 people have died in Pakistan in weather-related incidents since June 25 as heavy rains impacted tens of thousands of people in the country.

- with inputs from IANS, ANI