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While India is witnessing one of the wettest Octobers, with the country receiving 82.5 mm of rainfall during the first fortnight of the month, several states like Maharashtra, Goa and Andhra Pradesh have been hit by incessant rains in the last few days.
Multiple reports of rain-related accidents and flooding have come in from various states and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that south Peninsular India is likely to witness isolated heavy rains for the next five days.
In Mumbai, the withdrawal of monsoon is likely to get delayed by a few more days as rains continued to lash the city on Friday evening as well. Till 5.30 pm on Friday, IMD’s Santacruz observatory recorded 13.3 mm of rainfall. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) rainfall data showed that areas in eastern suburbs recorded rainfall above 50 mm.
Meanwhile, eight incoming flights to Mumbai were diverted to various nearby airports due to heavy rains.
Several parts of Pune witnessed traffic snarls after major roads in the city got waterlogged following intense rainfall on Friday afternoon. Shivajinagar — the worst-affected area — recorded 78.1 mm between 8.30 am and 8.30 pm (12 hours), with 74.3 mm between 4 pm and 5.30 pm (1.5 hours), said the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune. Other areas like Pashan, Magarpatta, Lavale and Chinchwad recorded 48.4 mm, 36.5 mm, 30.5 mm and 8.7 mm, respectively, between 8.30 am and 8.30 pm (12 hours).
Meanwhile, two persons died in a lightning strike in a hamlet in Bhiwandi in Thane district on Friday evening amid heavy rains, news agency PTI quoted an official as saying. Thane Municipal Corporation’s regional disaster management cell chief Avinash Sawant said the incident took place around 6 pm in Phulorepada in Chiradpada village.
The level of the Manjara dam that provides water for irrigation to Latur and neighbouring areas in Maharashtra has reached almost 90 per cent of storage capacity, leading to officials stating on Friday that its gates may have to be opened if rains in the catchment areas continued.
At least 40 tourists got stranded near Dudhsagar waterfall in South Goa after a small bridge on the Mandovi river got washed away due to a sudden rise in the water level following heavy rains. The were, however, rescued by the lifeguards appointed by the state government, officials said on Saturday.
The incident occurred on Friday evening when incessant rains pounded the state. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant lauded the lifeguards for the rescue operation.
“At least 40 tourists were stranded near Dudhsagar waterfall after a small bridge on the Mandovi river got washed away due to a sudden rise in the water level as a result of heavy rains. The tourists got stranded on the waterfall side,” a senior police official said.
The flood situation in Assam continued to remain grim on Friday with heavy rains inundating more areas, an official bulletin said. Several areas in the state and the neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh received heavy downpours with the floodwaters inundating 11 districts. According to news agency PTI, the affected districts are Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Kokrajhar, Majuli, Nagaon, and Tinsukia, according to the bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).
The northeastern state is currently experiencing the third wave of flood due to heavy rain since Monday.
The Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger level at Nematighat in Jorhat district and Tezpur, the bulletin said. Altogether 283 villages under 24 revenue circles have reported flooding.
The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Bengaluru for October 15 and said the city will receive light to moderate rain till October 19. Some other parts of Karnataka may receive heavy rain. “Heavy rain likely to occur at isolated places in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts of coastal Karnataka; Belgavi, Kalburgi, Bagalkote, Yadgir, Vijayapura, Raichur and Koppal districts of north, interior Karnataka and Chamarajanagar; and Bangalore Rural, Bengaluru Urban, Chikkamagaluru, Mandya, Hassan, Kodagu, Ramanagara, Davangere and Tumkur districts of south interior Karnataka,” the IMD said in a statement on Friday.
Bengaluru received 66 mm of rainfall on Friday leading to waterlogging in Indiranagar, Mahadevapura and HSR Layout. A part of the road near the main gate of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) caved in because of the rain.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Friday conducted an aerial survey of flood-affected areas in Gorakhpur and Maharajganj districts.
Low-lying areas in Prayagraj district witnessed a flood-like situation after water levels in Ganga and Yamuna rivers rose exponentially.
Heavy rains in Prayagraj cause a flood-like situation in the low-lying areas of district as water levels of Ganga, Yamuna rivers rise
Mathura district in Uttar Pradesh received unexpected rains Friday, leading to heavy crop damage. “A continuous survey is being done in this regard and the officials have managed to complete the survey in about 80 per cent of villages. Compensation will be sought for farmers who suffered losses,” Mathura DM Pulkit Khare told ANI.
Meanwhile, the officials concerned have sounded the first flood alert at Prakasam Barrage in Andhra Pradesh after flood flow into the Krishna river touched 4.07 lakh cusecs, news agency ANI reported.
Madurai in Tamil Nadu also witnessed heavy rains on Friday night. Karaikudi and neighbouring areas in Sivagangai district also witnessed heavy downpour.
However, after a fortnight’s delay, the Southwest monsoon Friday withdrew from the entire northwest India region. Between October 1 and 13, this region recorded 58.3 mm rain, which was 366 per cent above normal.
October is the first post-monsoon month during which the southwest monsoon normally withdraws from the entire northwest and most parts of central India by the middle of the month giving way to dry conditions.
However, rainfall trends during recent years, including 2022, point towards a ‘delayed’ monsoon withdrawal because of which rainfall activity continues over north and central regions until the third week of October.
(With inputs from agencies)
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