Rain Today LIVE Updates: 22 Dead in North India's Heavy Rains, Delhi-NCR Schools Shut; Devastating Downpour in Himachal

Frightening pictures of the chaos unleashed by the rains – vehicles floating like paper boats on inundated roads, muddy waters gushing into residential areas, temples and other structures submerged on the banks by the swollen rivers and land cave-ins – were shared online by people from Himachal Pradesh.

A fresh spell of snow was reported in high-altitude areas of the state.

The local met office had issued a fresh red alert of extremely heavy rains (above 204 mm) in ten out of 12 districts, barring tribal districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti, on July 9.

‘Heavy to extremely heavy’ rains battered Himachal Pradesh on Sunday, triggering landslides and flash floods, inundating many areas, washing away roads, vehicles and houses and killing six persons. While six people died in rain-related incidents on Sunday, the death toll has risen to 54 since the onset of the monsoon on June 24, according to the state emergency operation centre.

State authorities have ordered the closure of schools and colleges for two days. As many as 765 roads including Chandigar- Manali National Highway were closed following the torrential rains. Hundreds of people were stranded in different parts of the state, including in Chandratal in Lahaul and Spiti and near Sadhupul in Solan district.

Twenty major landslides and 17 flash floods have been reported in the past 48 hours over 30 houses have been completely and partially damaged. All major rivers including Ravi, Beas, Satluj, Swan and Chenab are in spate, officials said.

Several cars were washed away in flash floods triggered by incessant rain in Himachal Pradesh’s Manali.

our people were trapped in the Narmada river near Gopalpur Village in Jabalpur, an official statement said on Sunday.

The district administration said a rescue operation was underway and a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team was also present at the spot.

A NDRF team has also left Bhopal. If needed, they will be airlifted in the morning, an official said.

“Several essential services have been affected due to heavy rain. If we talk about roads then a total of 120 PWD link roads have been affected because of landslides…NH305 has also been affected in several places due to landslides…The two BRO roads Rohtang tunnel road and Rohtang Pass road are also closed. So many district roads and national highways are closed. The traffic has also been closed as a precautionary measure,” said Ashutosh Garg, DC, Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu, on rain situation.

After Delhi and Gurugram, the Noida administration also instructed all schools in Gautam Buddha Nagar district to remain closed today due to heavy rainfall in the region.

Faridabad School Admin also announced that all schools in the city will remain shut on Monday in view of the safety of students and staff.

Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner on Sunday announced that all schools in the district will remain closed in view of the incessant rainfall in the district. DC also issued a work-from-home advisory for all corporate offices and private institutions in the district so that traffic congestion can be avoided and repair/restoration of civic amenities can be carried out smoothly by Govt. Agencies.

“In view of the torrential rains lashing Delhi for the last 2 days and warnings from the meteorological department, all schools in Delhi are being closed for a day tomorrow,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi on Sunday.

Schools in Punjab’s Ludhiana will remain closed today in view of heavy rains: Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana

In Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi, rain continues to wreak havoc. Latest visuals from around Victoria Bridge, Panchvakhtra Temple and another bridge that has been damaged following incessant heavy rainfall.

“In central India, heavy rainfall is very likely over the region during the next five days in Madhya Pradesh. Similarly, in south India, isolated heavy rainfall is very likely in coastal Karnataka and Kerala,” IMD said

Isolated heavy rainfall is likely over Odisha during the next five days and is possible in Jharkhand between July 10 and July 12, in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bihar.

The IMD further said: “Heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely over sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Assam, and Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur during the next five days.”

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rain to lash Karnataka till July 10, while it also issued a red alert for the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Udupi.

The much awaited monsoon rain have arrived in the state, bringing cheers to the farming community. It is predicted that the Uttara Kannada district will witness thunderstorms with heavy winds.

Heavy rain will lash Belagavi, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Kalaburgi, Raichur, Chikkamagalur, Davanagere, Kodagu, Shivamogga and Vijayanagar districts. Mysuru, Ramnagar and Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Kolar are also expected to witness downpours.

A man, hailing from Rajasthan’s Churu district, drowned while bathing in a natural pond in Gairatpur Bas village amid heavy rain here on Sunday, with his cousin who was with him still untraced, police said.

The NDRF and civil defence teams recovered the body of one of them late evening.

The search for the other cousin continued till late 8 pm when it was called off. Search for him will continue tomorrow, said an official.

A 30-year-old woman died in north Delhi’s Subzi Mandi of a wall collapse while an auto rickshaw driver died in Rohini after a tree fell on his vehicle following heavy rain in the national capital on Sunday, police said.

Five other people were injured in separate incidents, police said, all caused by the record-breaking downpour the city saw during the day.

Incessant rains and landslides in Uttarakhand claimed six lives on Sunday and authorities in the hill state have sounded a red alert as water level rose in all major rivers, including the Ganga, amid a forecast of more heavy showers in the next two days In view of the inclement weather, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami urged the people to avoid unnecessary movement and requested pilgrims coming to the state to plan their journey only after getting the latest weather information to avoid inconvenience.

In a tweet, he said he has directed the administration to remain on ‘red alert’ mode to deal with any kind of situation.

Several roads were blocked due to landslides, affecting normal life as well as hindering the Char Dham pilgrimage for which lakhs of people visit the state. The water level of major rivers of the state including Ganga was rising, officials said.

The initial monsoon downpour wreaked havoc in both residential and commercial areas of Delhi on Saturday and Sunday while breaking a 41-year record, as the capital recorded 153 mm of rain in 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Sunday, the highest in a single day in July since 1982, said the India Meteorological Department.

The IMD said that Delhi’s Safdarjung weather station recorded the third highest 24-hour rainfall for the month of July since 1958.

The IMD also issued ‘Yellow’ alert for Monday – the second of four color codes to indicate weather warnings. While green denotes no action required, yellow is to stay alert and informed, orange is for being prepared, and red to take immediate action.

In West India, there will be light to moderate rainfall with isolated heavy rainfall continuing in Konkan and Goa, the ghat areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat, IMD said.

After three days, the rainfall is expected to decrease.

The IMD said there will be light to moderate rainfall with heavy to very heavy rainfall likely for two days in the western Himalayan region, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.