New Delhi: Four people died in Himachal Pradesh as rain continues to wreak havoc in the state, while five were swept away in Rajasthan’s Kota at a barrage after a heavy downpour caused the authorities to release water from a reservoir.
In Himachal, more than 200 roads are out of bounds for vehicular traffic, a majority of them in Mandi, while a flash flood warning has been issued for 12 districts in Jharkhand.
An individual each drowned in Kullu and Kangra districts, one died after being bitten by a snake in Bilaspur, while one was killed after falling from a height, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.
Since the onset of monsoon on June 20, 61 people have died in the state in rain-related incidents.
In Rajasthan, Khatauli in Kota district recorded 198 mm of rain over 24 hours – the highest in the state.
Five youths were swept away in the Chambal River Monday afternoon after the water level suddenly rose following the release of water from 12 gates of the Kota Barrage.
“The identity of the five missing youths is yet to be confirmed, as the rescued individual is not in a condition to provide detailed information at this stage,” Digod Police Station SHO Purshottam Mehta said.
Due to continuous rainfall in the region, the authorities opened all 12 gates of the Kota Barrage at 11.30 am on Monday, releasing approximately 2.2692 lakh cusecs of water downstream, said Nisha Sharma, Junior Engineer at Kota Barrage.
A met department official said that a circulation system over Madhya Pradesh has intensified into a low-pressure area.
Due to the system, parts of Kota, Ajmer, Jodhpur, and Udaipur divisions have seen heavy rain since yesterday.
Delhi got a decent drizzle towards the evening, lifting the heavy humid pall it had sweltered under during the day.
According to IMD data, Lodhi Road recorded the highest cumulative rainfall at 18.5 mm till 8.30 am Monday.
Pragati Maidan received 24.3 mm of rain, Ayanagar, 15.5 mm, Safdarjung, 15.8 mm, and Palam, 8.5 mm.
In Himachal Pradesh, 208 roads, including 157 in the disaster-hit Mandi district, are closed for vehicular traffic, while 745 water supply schemes and 139 power distribution transformers were affected.
The local Met office has issued an Orange alert of heavy to very heavy rain in Kangra, Mandi and Sirmaur Monday, and Shimla, Solan, and Sirmaur Tuesday.
It issued a Yellow alert, meaning heavy rain, for at least three of the 12 districts till Friday.
In Odisha, the weather department forecasted heavy rainfall in 19 of the 30 districts, as a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a well-marked system.
The India Meteorological Department cautioned fishermen not to venture into the sea for the next 24 hours in the north Bay of Bengal, as squally winds, blowing at 40-50 kmph, gusting to 60 kmph, were likely to prevail along and off north Odisha.
A red warning was issued for extremely heavy rain, above 20 centimetres, in Mayurbhanj, Keonhar and Sundargarh. Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore were predicted to receive 12 cm to 20 cm of rain.
The remaining districts were forecasted to witness 7-11 cm of precipitation.
Kolkata is likely to experience spells of light to moderate rain or thundershowers over the next 24 hours.
Light to moderate rain is likely across South Bengal districts, as a cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal is set to intensify into a low-pressure area within the next 24 hours, according to the Regional Meteorological Centre here.
In Jharkhand, a flash flood warning was issued for Bokaro, East Singhbhum, Garhwa, Gumla, Khunti, Latehar, Lohardaga, Palamu, Ranchi, Saraikela, Simdega, and West Singhbhum districts till 11.30 am Tuesday.
“Surface runoff and inundation may occur in some low-lying areas,” the IMD said.
A Red alert was sounded for heavy to extremely heavy rain in Saraikela-Kharswan, East Singhbhum, and West Singhbhum districts, and an Orange alert for Gumla, Khunti, and Simdega districts till 8.30 am Tuesday.
The weather office has issued a Yellow alert for heavy rain in Ranchi, Lohardaga, Ramgarh, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Jamtara, Hazaribag, Giridih, Koderma, and Deoghar till 8.30 am tomorrow.
Ranchi Meteorological Centre Deputy Director Abhishek Anand said the state is likely to experience widespread rainfall till July 17 under the influence of a depression and monsoon trough.
PTI
