- Jammu and Kashmir reported 12 deaths amidst monsoon fury.
- Uttarakhand and Nagaland reported five rain-related fatalities.
- Delhi experienced warmest July night; heatwave continued elsewhere.
New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir bore the brunt of monsoon fury on Sunday, accounting for 12 out of 17 deaths reported in rain-related incidents across northern and eastern India.
The death toll in Jammu and Kashmir rose to 12 as torrential rains unleashed landslides and flash floods across the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, causing widespread damage to public and private infrastructure including roads and houses.
The devastation prompted Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to skip National Conference’s proposed statehood protest in Delhi on Monday and rush to Jammu to take stock of the emerging situation and oversee relief efforts. Abdullah reached the Civil Secretariat here at 6 pm and chaired a high-level meeting.
The worst devastation was reported from Surankote tehsil in Poonch district, where most of the fatalities occurred, while rescue teams raced against time to trace the missing persons, the officials said. A police official said one more body was recovered in Surankote area of Poonch in the evening, taking the death toll to 10, while two persons, including a woman, lost their lives in flash floods in Rajouri district.
Moreover, authorities temporarily suspended the Amarnath Yatra in the Pahalgam and Baltal routes as the Met department predicted widespread rainfall across Jammu and Kashmir over the next few days.
Officials prohibited onward movement from the Baltal and Nunwan/Chandanwari base camps in the Kashmir region, and the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu.
The rain began early Sunday with cloudbursts taking place in the forests of Kashmir.
The weather department has forecast moderate to widespread rainfall from July 19 to 23 across Jammu and Kashmir.
In Uttarakhand, two people died after being struck by lightning in Haridwar district as continuous rainfall affected most parts of the state. The administration has issued red and orange alerts for 10 districts.
According to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), landslides triggered by incessant rains have blocked 84 roads, including two national highways, at various locations across the state.
The Meteorological Department issued warnings of heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in several parts of the state from Sunday for the next few days.
An ‘orange alert’ was issued for Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Haridwar and Bageshwar districts, while a yellow alert is in place for Chamoli, Almora and Pithoragarh districts.
In Nagaland’s Mon district, at least three people lost their lives in flash floods, which washed away houses, blocked roads and trapped several people underneath debris, officials said.
Authorities have not ruled out the possibility of the death toll rising as several people are still reportedly trapped under the debris brought in by flash floods and landslides.
In Himachal, officials have sounded an alert after the Shimla meteorological department predicted very heavy rainfall at isolated places in four to five districts for the next two days.
The MeT office has issued a red warning for Chamba, Kangra, Mandi and Sirmaur districts for Monday (July 20) and Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Sirmaur districts for Tuesday (July 21).
The IMD has also forecast widespread rain and thunderstorms across Uttar Pradesh over the next 24 hours.
According to the IMD, heavy rain is likely at a few places, while very heavy rain may occur at isolated locations across the state. Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning are also expected at isolated places.
In West Bengal, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall in the northern districts over the next two days, warning of possible landslides in the hilly areas and flash floods in low-lying areas of the region.
The IMD said that water levels may rise in some rivers in the region, including Teesta, Torsa, Jaldhaka and Raidak, as incessant rain continued to batter the north Bengal districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar since Saturday.
According to the IMD, extremely heavy rain is likely in the districts of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar, and very heavy rain in the other sub-Himalayan districts. With the minimum temperature of 31 degrees Celsius on Sunday, Delhi recorded the warmest July night in five years, according to the India Meteorological Department.
The city had logged a minimum temperature of 31.7 degrees Celsius on July 1, 2021.
The maximum temperature logged at the Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station, was 38.3 degrees Celsius, 3.1 notches above the seasonal average, according to the IMD. The minimum was 3.8 notches above the season’s average.
It was also the second instance this month of the minimum temperature touching 31 degrees, after a similar reading was recorded on Friday. Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, however, saw their temperatures rising throughout the day as sultry weather conditions prevailed at several places. With the minimum temperature of 31 degrees Celsius on Sunday, Delhi recorded the warmest July night in five years, according to the India Meteorological Department.
Whereas Bathinda was the hottest place in Punjab, recording a maximum temperature of 40.8 degrees Celsius as sultry weather conditions prevailed at several places in the state and neighbouring Haryana.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
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