Weather Chaos: ‘Red’ Alert in Gujarat’s Junagadh, Thane’s Tansa Dam Nearing Overflow, Delhi Yamuna Breaches Danger Mark
A flood-like situation again looms over Delhi, the water level of Yamuna river in the national capital yet again breached the danger mark of 205.33 metres with the peak level at 205.75m at 6am in Delhi Railway Bridge on Sunday, according to the Central Water Commission.
The update also warned that it is expected for the river to breach 206.7 metres — the level at which people are evacuated from low-lying neighbourhoods close to the river — by 4pm on Sunday. “Thereafter water level will likely to remain steady,” stated the CWC.
Till 10pm on Saturday, the river’s peak level was at 205.02 metres, just shy of the danger mark of 205.33 metres. The water released from the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana reached the national capital roughly 36 hours later.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government has been on high alert due to the discharge of over 2 lakh cusecs of water from the barrage. “The situation has sparked concern, prompting the government to take proactive measures to ensure the safety and well-being of the residents,” Delhi revenue minister Atishi said.
To tackle the situation, the authorities have ensured adequate preparations in the central district, eastern district, or areas like Yamuna Bazar and Yamuna Khadar, the minister further said.
Officials on Saturday warned that the Yamuna water level in Delhi is likely to impact relief and rehabilitation work in the flood-affected low-lying areas of the capital.
Meanwhile, the water level in the Hindon river in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida rose on Saturday, submerging the nearby houses. The police reached the spot and issued an alert regarding the situation.
“From Chhijarsi to Ecotech, water entered the houses in three low-lying areas. Poeple were evacuated from the houses. However, the river has not crossed the danger mark anywhere yet”, said Suresh Rao A Kulkarni, additional police commissioner.
Meanwhile, in Ghaziabad, at least 1,000 people were evacuated since Friday evening after the Hindon river’s flow increased by 10,575 cusecs in the last 48 hours and flooded upstream areas near Raj Nagar Extension, officials aware of the matter said on Saturday.
The authorities also began fanning out to localities close to the river after states upstream including Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand received heavy rainfall, bringing back the threat of floods that threw life out of gear a little over a week ago. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy to very heavy rain in parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand till July 25.
Parts of the national capital have been grappling with waterlogging and flooding for more than a week now. Initially, a downpour caused intense waterlogging on July 8 and 9, with the city receiving 125% of its monthly rainfall quota in just two days.
Heavy to very heavy rain pounded several Gujarat districts and Saurashtra regions, triggering a flood-like situation in urban areas and isolating villages.
After witnessing incessant rainfall on Saturday, Mumbai is likely to get some respite from the heavy showers as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has downgraded the Maharashtra capital’s ‘orange’ alert to ‘yellow’ alert for Sunday. Thane and Palghar were downgraded from a ‘red’ alert to an ‘orange’ alert, while Raigad district will remain under the ‘orange’ alert.
In Gujarat, heavy to very heavy rain pounded several districts in the state’s south and Saurashtra regions on Saturday, triggering a flood-like situation in urban areas and isolating villages amid rising water levels in dams and rivers surging to danger levels.
Top updates on Maharashtra and Gujarat rain:
1. The Thane district administration in Maharashtra sounded a flood alert for villages in Bhiwandi, Shahapur and Vasai talukas after the water levels in Tansa Dam reached close to the overflow levels on Saturday.
2. With Mumbai experiencing relentless heavy rainfall this week, the health department of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued an advisory for leptospirosis due to the rise in cases this season.
3. A 19-year-old man from Murbad in Thane was found dead on the bank of a river on Saturday. The victim, Deepak Kumar Paswan, came from Uttar Pradesh and was working in a media company. The police said on Tuesday, Paswan went out for work but didn’t return home.
4. The Raigad administration imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in Irshalwadi, where 27 people have died in a landslide. The prohibitory orders will be effective from July 23 till August 6, it stated. The death toll in the landslide at Irshalwadi hamlet in Maharashtra’s Raigad district mounted to 27 on Saturday, the third day of the search and rescue operation, while 81 persons are yet to be traced, an NDRF official said.
5. In Gujarat, due to rain in Navsari district, there was a traffic jam of five-seven km on the national highway. Later, the traffic was opened towards Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Heavy traffic jam was also seen on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway-48 in Navsari due to heavy rainfall in the area.
6. According to the IMD, light/moderate fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to continue over Saurashtra and Kutch on July 24, Gujarat region on July 23. A red alert has been issued for Junagadh, Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Kutch, Surat, Valsad, Navsari and Surat.
7. Gujarat’s Junagadh saw a flood-like situation due to torrential rain. In the city, dozens of parked cars and cattle were seen swept away in gushing waters after it received 241 mm of rainfall in just 12 hours till 8pm on Saturday. People were seen wading through waist-deep water to shift to safer places. Some of them were rescued by volunteers as they were carried away in strong currents.
8. A father-son duo drowned after their car got washed away near Silvassa town of Dadra and Nagar Haveli district in the Union Territory neighbouring Gujarat. The two were caught by fast-moving waters on Friday night when they were trying to cross over a low-lying bridge.
9. In Navsari city, a man and his son were swept away in a swollen drain. While the man was rescued, efforts were underway to trace the son, news agency PTI reported.
10. The MeT department also warned fishermen to not venture along and off the north Gujarat coast from July 22 to July 26 saying squally weather conditions were very likely to prevail during this period.
As the rain situation prevails Maharashtra, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an ‘orange alert’ for Sunday in Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg districts, and a ‘yellow alert’ to Mumbai predicting heavy rainfall again. The landslide in Irshalwadi tribal hamlet of Raigad district, caused by the heavy rainfall, has resulted in at least 27 deaths, and over 78 people are still reported missing. Chief minister Eknath Shinde met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and informed him about the prevailing flood and landslide situation caused by incessant rain. The Shiv Sena announced that the chief minister would adopt children who lost both parents in the landslide.
