Heavy Rains have wreaked havoc in North and West India. Hill states including Himachal Pradesh have suffered the most. In the last 24 hours, 34 people have lost their lives due to landslides, roof bursting, building collapse, falling trees and lightning due to torrential rains. The maximum 11 deaths have occurred in Himachal.

How many people died?

Apart from this, 8 have died in UP, 6 in Uttarakhand, 3 in Delhi, two each in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Punjab. A 40-year-old bridge was washed away by the Vyas river in Mandi, Himachal. After 41 years, Delhi has received 259 mm of rain in just 33 hours in July. Northern Railway has canceled 17 trains due to rain. The routes of 12 trains had to be changed.

Landslides also added to the problem

Landslides have reduced roads to rubble in hilly states, while roads in plains states, including the capital Delhi, have become waterlogged. Due to which traffic was badly affected. The water of Yamuna in Delhi has reached near the danger mark. Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Chief Ministers of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Lieutenant Governors of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir and assured all possible help from the Center to deal with the situation.

Destruction in Himachal since the arrival of monsoon

Himachal has been devastated since the monsoon arrived on June 24. A sudden cloudburst in Mandi and Kullu late on Saturday night caused the Vyas river to rise in water, washing away three bridges, an ATM and four shops. The Meteorological Department has issued a red and orange alert for heavy rains in the next 48 hours. The movement of other trains including Vande Bharat from Ambala to Una-Amb-Daulatpur Chowk was halted due to inundation of tracks in many parts of Punjab. The Yatra of Shrikhand Mahadev has been suspended for two days. Six inches of water has fallen in Rajasthan's Hanumangarh. On the other hand, Jhunzhunu and Sikar have flood-like conditions.

Flash floods and cars were washed away

Several vehicles were washed away by flash floods in the Beas river due to cloudburst in Kullu-Manali. Five national highways including Manali-Leh, Chandigarh-Manali, 736 roads have been closed due to landslides. Trains have been stopped on the heritage Kalka-Shimla track due to debris fall.

Flood alert in Yamuna river near red mark, Delhi

The water level of Yamuna river in Delhi has reached near the danger mark. At 9 pm, the water at the old railway bridge was at 203.62 metres, 1.71 meters below the red mark. Due to continuous release of water from Hathinikund barrage in Yamunanagar, Delhi government has declared a flood alert. So far more than one lakh cusecs of water has been released. Delhi received 153 mm of rain in the 24 hours till 8 am on Sunday. This is the highest since 169.9 mm rainfall on 25 July 1982, 41 years ago.

Heavy rains in Uttarakhand, Punjab and Haryana

There was heavy rain in various districts of Punjab including Patiala, Fazilka, Hoshiarpur, Fatehgarh Sahib. A flood warning has been issued in Patiala and houses in low-lying areas have been evacuated. Chandigarh has received 322 mm of rain in 24 hours. Life has been affected due to heavy rains.

Haryana: Heavy rains lashed most districts including Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal and Kaithal. Ambala has received 270 mm of rain since Saturday.

Uttarakhand: Orange alert has been declared for heavy rains in the next two days. Over 175 roads have been closed due to landslide debris. Gangotri-Yamunotri highway will be closed from 8 pm to 5 am.

Schools closed in Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida and Ludhiana

Schools had to be closed due to heavy rains. Schools will remain closed in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Hapur and Faridabad on Monday. In Ludhiana too schools have been declared closed due to rain.