Delhi and Chandigarh see highest rainfall within 24 hours in 20 years
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People wading through a flooded street after heavy rain in New Delhi, India, on July 8.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW DELHI - Delhi and Chandigarh recorded the heaviest rainfall in a day in 20 years on Saturday. The Safdarjung Observatory recorded 126mm of rainfall in a space of nine hours from 8.30am to 5.30pm in Delhi. In Chandigarh, too, for the first time in 20 years, record rainfall was recorded.
The last time it rained heavier than this in Delhi was more than 20 years ago, on July 10, 2003. On that day, 133.4mm of rainfall was reported in Delhi, while on July 21, 1958 – more than 65 years ago – 266.2mm of rainfall was recorded in Delhi.
In Chandigarh, the capital city of the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, record rainfall also took place, with 302.3mm of rain in the 24 hours up to 8.30am on Sunday. This is the heaviest rainfall recorded ever since the Chandigarh Observatory was set up in 2009.
Due to heavy rain, 14 deaths have been reported across north India, with the most number of deaths reported in Himachal Pradesh.
Heavy rain also lashed the entire state of Himachal Pradesh where five lives were lost, and 200 people were stranded in Lahaul Spiti’s Chandratal area.
In all, nine deaths have been reported in Himachal due to rain or rain-related incidents such as landslides. In Kullu, a landslide left a woman dead, while in another incident, a person was buried alive after a landslide in Katiyan, Chamba.
In Central India, 264 .9mm rainfall was recorded, which is 4 per cent more than normal.
More rain is expected in the coming few days and the Met Department has issued warnings, especially to those going to hill stations for the holidays.
Himachal is the most sensitive and danger-prone state, with construction activity taking place on both the main national highways, Chandigarh-Shimla and Chandigarh-Manali. THE STATESMAN/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
