New Delhi: Heavy rains lashed various parts of the country Thursday, prompting the weather department to issue a ‘red’/’orange’ alert in some states even as a woman was swept away in flood waters in Goa.
In the national capital, heavy showers in the morning caused waterlogging and traffic congestion in several areas, officials said.
According to data shared by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, waterlogging was reported in nine locations, including areas of Jai Vihar in Baprola, Azad Market, Sadh Nagar in Palam, Shahpur Jat, Nimri Colony in Ashok Vihar, New Rajinder Nagar and Kanti Nagar East in Seelampur between 9 am and 1 pm.
Traffic officials said waterlogging in areas of Pragati Maidan, Modi Mills flyover, both carriageways of the MB Road, and Rani Jhasi Road led to congestion. Traffic movement was also disrupted on the DND Flyway and Ashram flyover.
On its official Twitter handle, the BJP’s Delhi unit shared a video from Burari that purports to show children in school uniform wading through knee-deep water. In the caption accompanying the clip, the BJP asked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to pay attention to the waterlogging issue.
The city recorded 5 mm rainfall in the 24 hours ended at 8.30 am, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
In Maharashtra, moderate to heavy rains lashed Mumbai overnight and the weather department has issued an ‘orange’ alert, predicting more heavy showers in the city Thursday.
An official from the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking said some of their bus routes were diverted at Sion due to waterlogging at around 4.45 am. The routes were restored at around 8 am, the official said.
Rain intensity increased after midnight Thursday and some areas like Dadar, Mahim, Khar, Matunga and Kurla recorded downpour in the range of 40 mm to 70 mm in the last 12 hours, as per rainfall data of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
According to a BMC spokesperson, the IMD’s Mumbai centre has in its ‘district forecast and warnings’ on Wednesday evening issued an ‘orange’ alert for the city, forecasting “heavy to very heavy rainfall” at a few places.
In Goa, a 56-year-old woman was swept away in flood waters while several houses in low-lying areas of the coastal state were inundated as it witnessed heavy to very heavy rains in the last 24 hours, officials said Thursday.
The IMD has issued a ‘red’ alert for Goa, forecasting heavy rains in parts of both North Goa and South Goa districts Thursday.
The weather department also predicted inundation of houses in low-lying areas, fall of weak trees and structures, localised and short-term disruption of essential services, and low visibility during intense rain spells.
Wednesday evening, Florina D’Souza was swept away in a strong water current when she went to a paddy field with another woman in Naqueri Betul village of South Goa, Additional Collector (South Goa) Deepak Desai said, adding the other woman managed to hold on to a tree to save her life.
Disaster management agencies searched for D’Souza through the night and the body was found in an abandoned bauxite mining pit near the paddy field at around 7 am Thursday, Desai said.
Several places, including Kharebandh near Margao town in South Goa, were inundated due to heavy rains.
In Kerala, after a brief lull, rains intensified in the state Thursday leading to ‘red’ alert being sounded in its two districts where heavy rains in the past few days have disrupted normal life.
The IMD issued a ‘red’ alert in Kannur and Kasaragod districts and ‘orange’ alert in seven other districts of the state for the day.
As the rains continued in Kerala, normal life was affected with schools declaring a holiday in many districts and hundreds being displaced from their homes, which were damaged by uprooted trees or flooded by rising river water, forcing them to take shelter in the relief camps.
A few families were shifted to relief camps following landslides in Kappimala village in Taliparamba taluk of Kannur district.
Coastal areas also suffered as a result of the bad weather with a stormy sea flowing into homes at various places along the Kerala coast, especially in Ernakulam.
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) also issued warnings cautioning people against tourism and trekking in hilly areas or entering water bodies and rivers.
PTI