Heavy rain lashes Delhi-NCR; flooding, traffic-jams reported in many areas
Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region (NCR), on Wednesday morning, woke up to heavy rainfall that has led to waterlogging and traffic snarls in several areas. A number of areas of Delhi and Gurugram were flooded due to the heavy downpour. Many office-goers were stuck in the traffic jams on key stretches of major roads in Delhi-NCR. Here are more details.
Heavy rains hit the national capital
Delhi: The national capital witnesses cloudy sky, heavy rainfall expected pic.twitter.com/8NmEOneDVs
— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2020
Chances of 1-2 spells of heavy rains: IMD regional head
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rains and cloudy skies for Delhi and the NCR areas till Thursday. "We had a forecast for heavy rain through Tuesday night. These conditions are expected to stay till Thursday," said Kuldeep Srivastava, the Head of IMD's regional weather forecasting center. "Also, there are chances of one or two spells of heavy rains," he added.
Some regions may receive heavy rain: Srivastava
"From early morning on Wednesday, we are expecting moderate rainfall in most parts of Delhi, while some regions may receive heavy rain," Srivastava added. The IMD had earlier issued a three-day orange alert for Delhi-NCR on Monday. However, only light intensity rains were reportedly witnessed in isolated parts of the national capital on Tuesday.
Thunderstorms with moderate rainfall predicted for these places
IMD has also predicted thunderstorms with moderate intensity rain for a number of areas. The list of such areas includes Sambhal, Bulandshahar, Khurja, Kosli, Bawal, Nuh, Sohna, Palwal, Faridabad, Gurugram, Ballabhgarh, Faridabad, Noida, Bagpat, Khatoli, Amroha, Moradabad, and Meerut.
Images from Gurugram's waterlogged New Colony area
Haryana: Waterlogging in Gurugram's New Colony following heavy rainfall in the area. pic.twitter.com/c9tbnOtU99
— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2020
House collapses in Delhi's Nangloi Extension area
On the other hand, a house in Delhi's Nangloi Extension area has collapsed, reported news agency ANI. Four fire tenders have been pressed into service for rescue operations. Separately, an old house in Uttar Pradesh's Agra, around 200km away from Delhi, has also collapsed after the heavy downpour in the region overnight.
Delhi Traffic Police issues alerts for the public
Delhi's Traffic Police department has put out a number of traffic alerts for the public on its official Twitter handle. It has asked people to avoid the Dhaula Kuan-Punjabi Bagh stretch and the Liberty Cinema-Punjabi Bagh stretch. The department has also tweeted that traffic at the Pul Prahladpur underpass has been badly hit due to waterlogging in the area.
Major traffic jams in these areas
According to Delhi's traffic police officials, major traffic snarls were reported from Dhaula Kuan, Rao Tula Ram Marg, Moti Bagh intersection, South Extension (Ring Road), Vikas Marg, Barapullah, Dwarka Link Road, Ashram intersection, Delhi-Noida Direct Flyway, and Noida Link Road.
Traffic congestion at Delhi's ITO due to heavy rain
Several parts of #Delhi receive rainfall; Visuals from ITO pic.twitter.com/tOFk79Fqru
— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2020
6% more rainfall than normal level recorded in monsoon season
Delhi's Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for the city, has so far recorded only 139.2mm of rainfall against the average of 157.1mm for August - a deficiency of 11%. However, it has recorded an overall rainfall of 457.8mm since June 1 - when the monsoon begins - which is 6% above the normal of 433.2mm for this period.
