India Weather Highlights: Death toll in Himachal rises to 80 amid heavy rains; waterlogging in parts of West Bengal

The gates of Anicut dam were opened on Tuesday to control the rising water levels of the Kaveri river in West Bengal's Midnapore district, news agency PTI reported.

A flood alert was issued in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj as Ganga and Yamuna rivers continued to rise amid heavy rainfall in the upper regions and the release of water from dams, as per a PTI report.

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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) Tuesday predicted hot and humid weather conditions for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal.

Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely over parts of Northwest India, including Uttarakhand, East Rajasthan, Jammu-Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, West Uttar Pradesh, West Rajasthan and East Uttar Pradesh, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) stated in its forecast on Tuesday.

Coastal Karnataka, Mahe, and Kerala are also likely to witness isolated heavy rainfall, the IMD stated. Telangana, meanwhile, will experience isolated very heavy rainfall today and tomorrow.

Strong surface winds are also likely to prevail over the South Peninsular Indian during the next five days.

Referring to the devastating July 1 cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh's Seraj and Mandi, Naresh Chauhan, Media Advisor to the Chief Minister told ANI that efforts are on to restore.

"Eight to ten cloudbursts occurred in a single day. Our entire administration responded with full force Deputy Chief Minister, the PWD Minister, and I personally visited the affected areas. Hundreds of machines are working to clear roads and restore water schemes. Army, NDRF and SDRF teams are on the ground," he said. (ANI)

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu Monday chaired a high-level meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), news agency ANI reported.

The review focused on intensifying disaster preparedness given the increasingly destructive monsoon patterns and repeated cloudburst incidents in the state.

Naresh Chauhan, Media Advisor to the Chief Minister, addressing reporters, said, "Whether we look at 2023, 2024, or this year, Himachal has suffered major losses due to cloudbursts and monsoon rains, especially in Mandi, Thunag, Karsog, Dharampur and other regions."

Announcing the plans that were discussed during the high-level meeting, Chauhan said a plan was discussed to strengthen the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), with a proposed investment of Rs 819 crore, ANI quoted.

Training will be imparted to 70,000 citizens about 1 per cent of the state's population through the Civil Defence and Home Guard framework, with each participant undergoing 15 days of training, he said.

A major SDRF infrastructure centre is also coming up in Palampur, Kangra district and training modules are also being developed under SIDM, and a resource bank will be maintained in collaboration with Himachal Pradesh University. (ANI)

Delhi is under a 'yellow alert' with rain and thunderstorms forecast for Tuesday, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 27 degrees Celsius, 0.9 notch above normal, according to the weather department, news agency PTI reported.

A 'yellow alert' under the IMD's colour-coded warning system indicates the need to "be aware" of potentially impactful weather.

The IMD has forecast a generally cloudy sky with moderate rain expected during the day with the maximum temperature likely to settle at 34 degrees Celsius, as per the report.

The AQI clocked at 85, according to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) national bulletin. (PTI)

The cumulative death toll due to heavy rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh rose to 80, as of Tuesday, with 52 fatalities directly attributed to disasters such as landslides, flash floods, and cloudbursts, while 28 deaths were due to other causes including road accidents, news agency ANI reported quoting the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).

The district of Mandi has so far been the worst hit, accounting for 17 rain-related deaths, followed by Kangra with 11.

The SDMA report, covering the period from June 20 to July 7, also recorded 28 deaths under "other causes" including electrocution, snake bites, and falls from steep terrain, whereas 14 due to cloudbursts, 8 in flash floods, 1 from landslides, among other causes, ANI quoted.

In addition, the state has seen 128 people injured, 320 houses fully damaged, and 38 partially damaged, 10,254 livestock and poultry deaths and damage to public infrastructure worth Rs 69,265.60 lakh, as per the report. (ANI)

Due to heavy rain since Sunday 4 pm, some roads in Odisha's Balasore town area were inundated, news agency PTI reported quoting an official.

Water also entered into some villages and crop fields in Sundargarh and Jharsuguda districts, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said.

Pujari said teams of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and fire and emergency services have been kept on alert to deal with any eventuality.

The field-level revenue officers have been asked to shift people if water enters their homes, he said, adding that dry food along with polythene sheets have been kept ready, as per the PTI report.

Following the predictions of wet weather conditions in Odisha, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Monday advised fishermen not to venture into the sea along and off the coast, news agency PTI reported.

The state government has also asked all district collectors to keep the administrative machinery ready and advised people to take safe shelter during thunderstorm activity. (PTI)

Two women were killed and an eight-year-old girl was injured after a wall of an under-construction poultry farm collapsed due to heavy rain in Odisha’s Nuapada district, police said on Monday, news agency PTI reported.

The incident occurred on Sunday in the Lakhana area after the wall collapsed, and the deceased were identified as Balmati Sabar (35) and Rupe Sabar (61), a senior officer told PTI.

Injured minor Ridhi Sabar is undergoing treatment, he said. (PTI)

Relief operations are currently underway after cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh destroyed areas around Seraj Valley in Mandi's Thunag area, according to PTI.

A flash flood warning has been issued for 12 districts in Jharkhand till 5.30 pm on Monday, as moderate to heavy rainfall lashed major parts of the state, an IMD official told news agency PTI.

The districts that fall under the flash flood risk include Garhwa, Palamu, Latehar, Lohardaga, Gumla, Simdega, Khunti, Ranchi, Bokaro, Saraikela, West and East Singhbhum, according to a bulletin of India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Major parts of Jharkhand, including Ranchi, have been experiencing moderate to heavy rainfall since Sunday. Ranchi Meteorological Centre Deputy Director Abhishek Anand said the rainfall is caused by a cyclonic circulation and trough.

Light to moderate rainfall is expected across Jharkhand on Monday, and some places of the western and southern parts of the state may witness downpour, he told PTI.

Jharkhand has recorded 69 per cent surplus rainfall between June 1 and July 6, he said. The eastern state received 417.2 mm of precipitation against the normal of 246.2 mm during the period.

Latehar district recorded the highest surplus rainfall at 157 per cent, followed by Ranchi at 156 per cent, the official said.

However, Deoghar and Godda were still facing deficit rainfall at 35 per cent and 28 per cent respectively, he added. (PTI)

The Kedarnath Dham Yatra in Rudraprayag district was temporarily halted Sunday after a landslide damaged the pedestrian track near Chhodi Gadhere, about one kilometre ahead of Gaurikund, news agency ANI reported.

Authorities stated that due to the landslide, the path leading to the sacred shrine of Kedarnath had become unsafe for pilgrims, leading officials to suspend movement along the route until further notice. (ANI)

Heavy rainfall in Rudraprayag and adjacent areas of Uttarakhand Monday increased the water flow in the Alaknanda river, news agency ANI reported.

However, even after heavy rainfall and increased water flow, the river continues to flow below the danger mark.

Thunag in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district is facing a severe water crisis after recent cloudbursts and floods washed away machinery, water pipes, and transformers used to extract and supply clean water, news agency ANI reported.

Jal Shakti Department Chief Engineer Anju Sharma visited the area to assess the damage. Speaking to ANI, she said, "All 81 panchayats in this constituency have been affected. Our people are tracing the sources... We collected all the staff as it is very difficult to reach from one place to another."

She added, "The pipes have been arranged, but it is difficult to reach... We have gone a lot back for permanent restoration. The big schemes have suffered a huge setback. Our transformers and machinery have been washed away and tracing it is a huge challenge for the department and trying to do it on war level. I want to appeal to the people to support the department and use the water from storage or hand pumps and drink only after boiling it."

Isolated heavy rainfall is likely to occur over coastal Karnataka, and Telangana on Monday, the IMD stated.

Strong surface winds, with speed reaching 40-50 kmph, is also likely to occur South Peninsular India during the next five days, the forecast stated.

Kerala & Mahe, Lakshadweep, Karnataka and Telangana will experience light to moderate rainfall during the next seven days.

Isolated to scattered rainfall accompanied by isolated thunderstorm and lightning is also likely over coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam, Telangana and Rayalaseema over the next seven days.

Parts of Northwest India, including East Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jammu-Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, are likely to experience isolated heavy rainfall on Monday.

Very heavy rainfall is also likely over Himachal, Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab and East Rajasthan today.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a ‘red’ alert for several parts of Madhya Maharashtra, where extremely heavy rainfall along with thunderstorms and lightning is likely on Monday.

An ‘orange’ alert is in place in Gujarat, Vidarbha, Konkan and Goa regions, which will experience very heavy rainfall, with thunderstorms, lightning and squall today.

Parts of the National Capital Region (NCR), including Noida in Uttar Pradesh, woke up to heavy rainfall on Monday.

Amid heavy rainfall in the region, the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) in Uttarakhand issued a high-alert landslide warning for four districts-Tehri, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, and Chamoli.

Following forecasts by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the alert is on for July 7 and 8.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall is also likely in these regions, thereby increasing the risk of slope failures and road blockages.