On 9th July, heavy rainfall continued in many states of North India. At least 14 people, including two Army personnel, have died across north India amid monsoon rains. Delhi NCR is facing a serious waterlogging problem, and a government school building has fallen just four months after its construction in education Minister Atishi Marlena’s constituency, raising questions over poor construction.
Home Minister Amit Shah took stock of the situation and spoke to officials in Delhi and other states. He also spoke to J&K LG to take updates about the Amarnath Yatra that has been suspended due to heavy rains.
All the rivers are flowing at dangerous marks across Himachal Pradesh. Chandigarh, for the first time in 23 years, received 322mm of rain in less than 24 hours, causing damages. Mini flash floods, caved roads, waterlogged roads and power cuts have spread across Chandigarh Tricity that covers Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula alongside Zirakpur, Dera Bassi, Kharar and other areas nearby.
Heavy rains started two days ago and continued till Sunday evening. As per the Weather.com forecast, rains will continue for at least days in most North Indian states. Experts have said that an interaction between a western disturbance and monsoonal winds has led to an intense rainfall spell in states including Delhi. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued red alerts for several states on 9th July and predicted another spell of heavy rains in the next 24-48 hours.
The Safdarjung observatory recorded 126.1mm of rainfall between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm on Saturday. Delhi received 100mm of rainfall in a single day covering 15 per cent of the total rainfall it receives every monsoon.
At least 14 killed in 24 hours
Two Army personnel died from flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir. Their bodies were recovered in the Poonch district. As per reports, they were crossing Dogra Nallah in Surankote when caught in a flash flood on 8th July. The mortal remains of the first soldier, identified as Naib Subedar Kuldeep Singh, were recovered on Saturday, while the body of the second soldier was recovered on Sunday.
Two people died in district Doda of Jammu and Kashmir after a landslide hit a passenger bus. Superintendent of Police (Bhaderwah) Vinod Sharma said the bus got caught in a landslide at village Bhangroo on the Thathri-Gandoh road. Three trapped passengers were rescued and rushed to hospital for treatment. Amir Sohail of Kahara and Mudassar Ali of Changa-Bhalessa were declared brought dead. As Baglihar Dam received a record amount of water, the police have issued an advisory asking people to stay away from the area.
Watch: Baglihar Dam swells as rain lashes catchment areas, Jammu and Kashmir police issues advisory asking people to stay away from the area#JammuKashmir #Rains pic.twitter.com/DZCNmT2rqW
— News18 (@CNNnews18) July 9, 2023
Himachal Pradesh is witnessing landslides, damages to properties and more, leading to the death of five people. In the Kotgarh area of district Shimla, three people died after their house collapsed in a landslide due to rains. A woman died in a makeshift house that was damaged in a landslide. In Katiyan tehsil of district Chamba, a man was reportedly buried alive in a landslide. So far, 13 landslides and nine flash floods have been reported in the state.
Rain Fury in Himachal Pradesh
— Weatherman Shubham (@shubhamtorres09) July 9, 2023
Visuals from Manikaran 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/TzSvOP8iLX
The Uttarakhand government has warned pilgrims to be cautious while planning Yatra owing to heavy rainfall in the state. In a statement, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “All pilgrims should proceed on their yatra keeping the weather conditions in mind.” Several roads in the Himalayan region are blocked, and people have been stuck on roads due to landslides. The officials have closed Badrinath National Highway following a landslide near Chhinka and National Highway 9 in Kumaon division at district Champawat. Several people got stuck after cloud burst in Dharchula.
Cloud burst in Uttarakhand: उत्तराखंड के धारचूला में फटा बादल, पुल टूटाने, 200 लोग फंसे।#Uttarakhand #Dharchula #CloudBurst #WeatherUpdate #IMDAlert #Rain #RainAlert #IMD #Pithoragarh pic.twitter.com/c69iVyu6uC
— Dainik Jagran (@JagranNews) July 7, 2023
Three people died in Uttar Pradesh, including a woman and her six-year-old daughter after the roof of their house collapsed due to heavy rainfall in Niyazura village of district Muzaffarnagar. In another incident, a 10-year-old girl died when a tree bench fell on the tun shed of her house in Sirathu.
#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Rain lashes parts of Gorakhpur. pic.twitter.com/7OYeEcKI1a
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) June 30, 2023
Leh Ladakh is also facing extreme weather conditions. A meteorological department spokesperson said, “There has been widespread moderate to heavy rain and snowfall over the higher reaches of Ladakh. People are advised to remain vigilant and avoid slide-prone areas.”
Incessant gush of rain in #Ladakh is somthin dat's unusual 4 de region.Precautionary measures disaster mgmnt is a must 2 prevent any mishap due 2 increased flow of water streams.Roads r affected due 2 landslides & snowfall at higher altitudes, & al de flights got cancelled 2day. pic.twitter.com/ungMnll6RV
— Stanzin Lhaskyabs བསྟན་འཛིན་ལྷ་བསྐྱབས། (@Stanzinlha) July 9, 2023
Four people died in separate incidents in Rajasthan. A man and a woman reportedly died in Chittorgarh due to lightning. Two men died by drowning in Sawai Madhopur.
