Ten dead as freak torrential rains flood Delhi, forcing schools and offices to close

Delhi receives its highest rainfall in 14 years

At least 10 people died in India’s national capital region after heavy rainfall led to water logging and closure of schools and offices.

The Meteorological Department issued an alert as Delhi recorded over 100mm rain in a span of an hour yesterday while the government announced the closure of schools.

Residents were advised to stay indoors after waterlogging in several areas choked traffic.

A woman and her son drowned on Wednesday in a drain in East Delhi’s Mayur Vihar, as the city received its highest rain in 14 years.According to the police, the boy, Priyansh, slipped into an open drain which was not visible due to heavy flooding. The mother, identified as Tanuja, also fell inside while trying to rescue her son.

Two more people died on Wednesday, including one in a house collapse, reported India Today. A 12-year-old boy died from electrocution while he was returning home from tuition. Police have registered a case and are investigating the matter.

In the neighbouring satellite township of Gurugram, at least three people were electrocuted to death by a live wire submerged in a waterlogged area.

In Greater Noida, two people died due to a wall collapse.

Flight operations have also been hit, with diversion of at least 10 flights heading to the national capital, reported CNN-IBN. The national capital region encompasses Delhi and several districts surrounding it from the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

A man pulls a cart packed with goods as he wades through the rain on a street in Kolkata, India, 31 July 2024 (Reuters)

Visuals from ANI news agency showed flooding in the northern part of the city where three students drowned in a flooded basement last week.

Prime minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party found itself in the line of fire, after opposition parliamentarians raised concerns about a section of a leaking roof in the newly inaugurated parliament building.

The building, constructed as part of the government’s larger Central Vista redevelopment project, was inaugurated by Mr Modi on 28 May last year with both the Houses shifted to the new premises on 19 September.

Congress parliamentarian Manickam Tagore submitted an adjournment motion of the ongoing parliamentary session, seeking formation of special committee to inspect the “causes of the leaks, evaluate the design and materials, and recommend necessary repairs”.

Meanwhile, at least 11 people died after heavy rain lashed various parts of northern India and more than 250 people were missing after downpours in the Himalayas, including people stranded on a famous pilgrimage route.

Indian men walk through a road during heavy rain in Prayagraj, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, 31 July 2024 (AP)

IMD recorded 183mm (seven inches) of rain in the past 24 hours in the famous tourist destination of Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.

More than 50 people were missing after heavy rain over state capital Shimla and surrounding regions, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said in a post on X, adding that rescue operations were ongoing.

Two people died after a barrage in a power project was breached, obstructing connectivity in the region, state revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi told news agency ANI.

Indian Express newspaper reported that four people were killed after a cloudburst in the state of Uttarakhand and 200 pilgrims were stranded after rain washed away a part of their walking path.

Torrential rains, which, along with unabated construction have frequently triggered deadly flash floods and landslides in the mountains of India and neighbouring Pakistan and Nepal over the past few years, have been attributed to climate change.

People wait to check the identity of the victims at a morgue following Tuesday's landslides in Wayanad, Kerala state, India (AP)

In the south, hopes of finding survivors began to fade as hundreds of rescuers worked through slush and rocks and pulled out bodies from debris in the hills of Kerala state, a day after 167 people were killed in monsoon landslides.

Steady rain that intensified as the day progressed and the rising water level in a local river hampered the rescue, with a temporary bridge built to connect the worst affected area of Mundakkai being washed away.

The weather department has forecast more heavy rain over the next 24 hours, Kerala’s chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said and urged people to be on “high alert”.

Heavy rain in Kerala, one of India’s most popular tourist destinations, led to the landslides in its Wayanad district early on Tuesday, sending torrents of mud, water and tumbling boulders downhill and burying or sweeping people to their deaths as they slept. Experts said the area had received heavy rain in the last two weeks that softened the soil.

Extremely heavy rainfall on Monday then triggered the landslides. Nearly 1,600 people have been rescued from the hillside villages and tea and cardamom estates, authorities said.

Additional reporting from agencies