Weather LIVE updates: An aerial view of the flood-affected areas after heavy monsoon rainfall, at Gauhari village near Dehradun on Monday. (PTI photo)
The rainfall over Kerala and Karnataka and Ghat areas of Tamil Nadu is likely to increase in intensity once again over the next 48 hours in association with a fresh surge of monsoon winds. Along with this, South Konkan and Goa is also likely to receive isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall on Tuesday, according to the India Meteorological Department.
A low-pressure area over northwest Bay of Bengal as well as the cyclonic circulation persists. Western part of the monsoon trough which is currently to the north of its normal position is likely to shift southwards gradually during the next 3 days. Fairly widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely over Western Himalayan region and eastern parts of India and heavy over Uttar Pradesh over the next 72 days. Isolated extremely heavy falls are also likely over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand during next 24 hours and over Odisha, today.
Weather LIVE updates: An aerial view of Aluva town following a flash flood after heavy rain, in Kochi on Sunday. (PTI photo)
Reeling under the unprecedented havoc caused by heavy rains, the Kerala government has decided do away with the 'Onam' celebrations this year and instead utilise the amount for relief operations. A total of 39 people have lost their lives in landslides and floods caused due to the heavy rains, which has destroyed 20,000 houses and damaged 10,000 km of roads in the state since August 8.
In what may provide relief to the residents of Himachal Pradesh, the meteorological department said today that there was no possibility of heavy rainfall in the state in the next five days. Light-to-moderate rainfall are likely to occur at a few places over middle and low hills and at isolated places over higher reaches in the next three days, said Manmohan Singh, director, Meteorological Centre, Shimla. As per the latest weather forecast, there is no possibility of heavy rains in the next five days. Light rain and thundershowers are expected today in the districts of Chamba, Kangra, Una and Bilaspur, the director said.
A five-year-old boy drowned in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district this morning, taking the death toll in rain-related incidents in the state to 19 in the last two days, an official said. At least 18 people have died in various parts of the state during the incessant rains since Sunday evening. The highest casualty have been in Solan district (eight), followed by Mandi district (four), three in Kangra district, two in Hamirpur district and one each in Bilaspur and Una districts. Interim relief was distributed by the district administrations to the affected families, a state official had said.
Heavy rains pounded various parts of Kerala, especially the northern regions this morning, compounding the miseries of the people of the state where thousands are lodged in relief camps. In view of the situation, educational institutions in most places have declared a holiday today. Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kannur, Kasaragod and Palakkad are being lashed by heavy rains, PTI quoted disaster control room sources as saying. In most of these places landslides had been reported Monday.
During the past 24 hours, heavy to very heavy rains were witnessed in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh. At present, Darsi in Andhra Pradesh is the rainiest place in India with 292 mm of rainfall. Here's a look at the other rainiest places in the country:
Rains continued to wreak havoc in many parts of Kerala with northern hill district of Wayanad experiencing widespread landslides and flooding overnight, forcing thousands of people to take shelter at relief camps, officials said today. Several people fled their homes yesterday due to landslides and land slips in the district part of Western Ghats. People living in the downstream have been shifted to relief camps.
Meanwhile, Delhiites today woke up to mainly clear skies with the minimum temperature being recorded at 27.9 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season's average. The humidity was recorded at 81 per cent at 8.30 AM, a Met department official said. The city received 0.7 mm rains till 8.30 AM. The Met office has forecast overcast skies along with the possibility of light rains during the day ahead. "The maximum temperature is likely to hover at 34 degrees Celsius," the weatherman said.
Pegging the damage at Rs 8,351 crore, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called for help to rebuild the lives of people in the state. Vijayan has also sought the urgent sanction of Rs 1,220 crore from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) to meet the situation. “State Government would request the Union Govt. to declare the calamity as that of ‘rare severity’ and provide the required funds and assistance,” Vijayan said, adding that the impact of the monsoon havoc will be felt for a long time in the state. Home Minister Rajnath Singh also announced an immediate relief package of Rs 100 crore in addition to the aid of Rs 160.50 crore announced earlier. Read More
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had on Monday issued a fresh warning of heavy rain in Kerala in the next 24 to 48 hours. The torrential rainfall in the state has left 37 people dead in the last five days. According to the preliminary assessment by the state government, Kerala has suffered a loss of Rs 8,316 crore, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who did an aerial survey of the flood-affected parts on Sunday, announced a relief of Rs. 100 crore. Read More
The rainfall activity was even more disappointing in the week from August 2 to 8. The rainfall deficiency for the week was as high as 33 per cent, due to which countrywide cumulative rainfall deficiency for the season further mounted to 10 per cent from 7 per cent in the previous week. This week also, rainfall deficiency in Gujarat continued to be above 95 per cent and so does Rajasthan. This was followed by West Madhya Pradesh that saw deficiency of 92 per cent and Vidarbha region at 89 per cent.
India experienced deficient rainfall for the consecutive months of July and August, according to a report by Skymet. Rainfall deficiency to the tune of 29 per cent was observed in the week between July 26 and August 1 which pushed the countrywide cumulative rainfall deficiency for the season from 3 per cent to 7 per cent, according to the report. Central Indian and South Peninsula were highly rain-deficit to the tune of 67 per cent and 66 per cent, respectively, out of four subdivisions. However, East and Northeast India and Northwest India managed to record above normal rainfall at 13 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively. The most affected parts were Gujarat and Rayalaseema that went almost dry with deficiency mounting to 99 per cent. This was followed by Konkan & Goa that also failed miserably to record any rainfall leading to deficiency of 87 per cent in the given week. Read More
A statement issued by the Northern Railway, which looks after the Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge section of Ambala division, said landslides and fallen trees blocked tracks at more than 24 locations, which led to severe rail disruption. “Fresh hill slips are taking place. These sites were inaccessible by roads and therefore restoration has become difficult. Railway officials on special duty have been deployed to monitor the situation,” the statement added.
According to railway officials, 12 trains on the route were cancelled on Monday. “The passengers of three trains en route were cancelled and brought back to Kalka station after clearing the track from Sonwara station to Kalka,” said the statement. The railways said train services were expected to be restored by 2 pm on Tuesday.
Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded for several hours. Police said one-way traffic was restored on Monday morning after the first landslide blocked the road around 3 am. In various parts of the Parwanoo-Dharampur route, the roads were flooded leading to a road cave-in near Chakki Mor. Solan SP Madhusudan Sharma told Chandigarh Newsline that traffic was progressing at a snail’s pace. “The fist landslide occurred early Monday morning and the work to clear the road began immediately. We managed to open the road for one-way traffic around 10.30 am. But continuous landslides on the route hampered restoration work,” he said. The SP said a boy, named Himanshu, from Rani village near Parwanoo, got washed away in the Kaushalya rivulet. “The boy, while going to school with his grandfather, slipped into the rivulet. Rescue operation is on and we are yet to retrieve his body,” added Sharma.
According to the Solan district administration, 102 roads have been damaged in the district out of which traffic has been restored on 62 roads, due to landslides triggered by heavy rain since Sunday night. A statement issued by the Himachal Pradesh government on Monday said of the total 16 deaths, eight have been reported from Solan district. On Monday, the vehicular traffic remained disrupted, leading to slow movement and long jams, after repeated landslides occurred at a few locations on the Parwanoo-Solan route.
Vehicular and rail traffic on the Chandigarh-Shimla highway was badly hit on Monday as dozens of landslides occurred at various places on the route. In Solan district alone, eight persons, including a boy studying in the seventh standard in Parwanoo, died. Northern Railway said it has cancelled 12 trains on the Kalka-Shimla route following landslides at 24 locations. Read More
Himachal Pradesh's chief secretary has directed the deputy commissioners to ensure that educational institutes remain shut Tuesday. As per the state government, after 923 roads were closed due to landslides in the state, including six national highways, the state’s public works department has deployed machinery to make these roads usable again as soon as possible.
At least 16 people were killed following heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh over the past 24 hours, officials said Monday. The government has released Rs 96.50 crore for relief and launched rescue operations across the state. Read More
Welcome to our LIVE blog. The rainfall over Kerala and Karnataka and Ghat areas of Tamil Nadu is likely to increase in intensity once again over the next 48 hours. Isolated extremely heavy falls are also likely over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand during next 24 hours and over Odisha, today. Follow to get the latest updates on the weather across India on Tuesday.