The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places over Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand today.
Places over Delhi, Chandigarh, Haryana, East Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Punjab are also expected to witness moderate to heavy rainfall throughout the day.
The weather department further predicted thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds in parts of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gangetic West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, North Interior Karnataka, Odisha and Telangana during the next 2-3 days.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in six districts of Himachal Pradesh – Una, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Kangra, Mandi, and Sirmaur. Continuous heavy rains over the past two days have triggered landslides and house collapses in several parts of the state.
Akashvani correspondent reports that the monsoon rains have caused widespread devastation in Himachal Pradesh. So far, five national highways and seven hundred and eighty-eight other roads remain blocked due to landslides. In addition, more than two thousand one hundred electricity transformers are out of order, and three hundred and sixty-five drinking water schemes have been disrupted.
The death toll in rain-related incidents has now risen to three hundred and twenty.
In Shimla district alone, four people lost their lives in the past twenty-four hours after houses collapsed due to heavy rain. Meanwhile, authorities have urged people to stay away from rivers and streams and avoid unnecessary travel.
In Uttarakhand, intermittent light to moderate rainfall has been occurring across several districts of the state for the past 48 hours. Due to the continuous rain, the water levels of rivers and streams have risen.
In view of the rising water levels, the administration has urged people living near riverbanks to exercise caution. Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to clear roads blocked by rain and landslides in the hilly areas of the state.
The Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for rainfall in nine districts of the state and an orange alert for the remaining districts. The department has forecast heavy rainfall across the state for the next five days.
In light of the warning, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed district-level officials to remain extra vigilant and stay on 24×7 alert. In the Rudraprayag district, two people died and three others were injured this morning when a vehicle was caught in a landslide.