Over 10,000 evacuated along Yamuna river in Delhi, death toll rises in Uttarakhand, Himachal

More than 10,000 people living in low-lying areas along the Yamuna river in Delhi were evacuated as the river breached the danger mark on Monday evening. The Old Yamuna Iron Bridge (popularly known as Lohe ka Pul) was closed for road and rail traffic by the authorities.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal urged people living in low-lying areas and nearby the banks of the river to move to temporary shelters set up by the administration. Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said the next two days were “critical” but asserted his government was ready to deal with the situation.

At 6 pm on Monday, the river breached the danger mark and was flowing at 205.36 metres. It is expected to rise further as Haryana released an additional 1.43 lakh cusec water.

In many areas close to the river, the floodwaters entered the houses. Flooding at Nigam Bodh cremation ground disrupted last rites and caused inconvenience, news agency PTI reported.

Death toll mounts in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh

Heavy rains battered the Himalayan states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, claiming several lives and leaving many stranded.

The death toll in Himachal Pradesh rose to 25 on Monday, with three more people losing their lives due to rain-related incidents. The weather office has predicted showers would continue over the next 24 hours. All schools and colleges in Himachal’s Chamba district will remain closed, authorities announced.

As many as 897 tourists were reported to have been stranded in Lahaul-Spiti district due to untimely snowfall, news agency PTI reported. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has directed the district’s deputy commissioner to ensure immediate evacuation of the people.

Meanwhile, the death toll in rain-related incident in Uttrakhand’s Uttarkashi district has risen to 12, with five people missing. Two more bodies were recovered on Monday evening from Makudi as search operations were intensified with the weather becoming clearer.

Three helicopters, including one from the IAF, were pressed into service to take relief material, including food packets and medicines, to people.

Floods in Punjab, Haryana

Rescue operations were carried out by the Army, Air Force and NDRF in parts of Punjab and Haryana where a flood-like situation prevailed following heavy rainfall over the past few days.

People being evacuated in boats as some villages in Dharamkot division of Moga in Punjab were flooded by Sutlej river waters on Monday @IndianExpress #Punjab #floods pic.twitter.com/llyZAOQGvX

— Divya Goyal (@divya5521) August 19, 2019

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who called the situation ‘unprecedented’, announced Rs 100 crore for emergency relief and rehabilitation measures in flood-hit areas of the state and the situation has been declared as a natural calamity by officials.

Nearly 1,000 stranded people, including about 700 from Punjab’s Rupnagar district, were rescued from the two states, news agency PTI reported.

The Army’s Western Command has deployed flood relief teams at Mirthal in Pathankot district, Dinanagar in Gurdaspur and Phillaur, Nakodar and Shahkot in Jalandhar, and near Haryana’s Karnal, a press release said.

Over 80 people were rescued by a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in Phillaur sub-division in Jalandhar district, where the Sutlej breached its embankment at four places. A flood warning was also issued, alerting deputy commissioners of Karnal, Panipat, Sonipat, Faridabad and Palwal districts by the state Department of Revenue and Disaster Management.

Haryana minister Karan Dev Kamboj visited flood-affected areas in Karnal district’s Indri area, PTI reported.