At least 16 people were killed in landslides and flash floods triggered by heavy rain that lashed several parts of north India over the past 24 hours (ending July 9 morning).
In Jammu and Kashmir, the bodies of two soldiers who were washed away in flash floods in Poonch on July 8 were retrieved.
“Lance Naik Telu Ram was swept away while crossing a mountainous stream. Naib Subedar Kuldeep Singh, the patrol leader, while attempting to save him laid down his life,” an Army spokesman said.
Two persons were killed at Bhanghroo-Gandoh village in Jammu’s Doda district on July 9 when a landslide struck the bus in which they were travelling.
In Kashmir, a special team of the Navy joined an operation to trace a minor girl who drowned in the Pohru river in Kupwara district. The victim was among three minors who drowned on Saturday afternoon.
Pahalgam recorded 73.3 mm of rainfall, its highest ever in July. The previous record was 60.4 mm in 1983, according to officials. After being suspended for two days, the Amarnath Yatra resumed on July 9.
6 dead in Himachal
Torrential rain in Himachal Pradesh has claimed at least six lives in the past 24 hours (ending July 9 morning). Three persons were killed in a landslide at Madholi village in Shimla district on July 9, according to the State’s Emergency Operation Centre.
One woman died after she was buried under debris following a landslide at Lankabekar village in Kullu district. Another person was found dead under rubble at Kakiyan village in Chamba district on Saturday. One more death was recorded in a landslide at Rajhana in Shimla district.
So far, 54 deaths have been recorded owing to rain-related incidents in the State. Landslides have forced the closure of over 730 roads, including three national highways. The monetary loss has been pegged at ₹365.35 crore.
As many as 24 flash floods, 29 landslides and one cloud burst have been reported since the onset of monsoon in Himachal Pradesh on June 24. At least four persons have been reported missing in Kangra, Mandi and Shimla districts.
In Uttarakhand, three pilgrims drowned in the Ganga after their jeep fell into the river amid a landslide near Gular on the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway.
Heavy rain in Punjab and Haryana left Sutlej, Ravi, and Beas (Punjab) and Yamuna (Haryana) rivers in spate and caused waterlogging in several areas.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on July 9 directed district authorities, Ministers and AAP MLAs to reach out to people, especially those residing in low-lying areas and along rivers. In Chandigarh, waterlogging led to traffic woes.
The Ludhiana district administration issued an alert to villages along the Sutlej river as water has been released from Ropar Headworks.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast light to moderate rain in most places and “heavy to very heavy” rainfall at isolated places in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh till July 10.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal on July said the water level of the Kaushalya dam has risen “significantly” due to heavy rains and 4,000 cusecs of water is being released.
Delhi schools closed
Delhi recorded 153 mm of rainfall in the 24-hour period ending 8.30 a.m. on July 9, the highest in a single day in July since 1982, the IMD said. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that all schools in the national capital will remain closed on Monday in view of the incessant rain.
The Delhi government issued a flood warning after Haryana discharged more than one lakh cusecs of water into the Yamuna river from the Hathni Kund Barrage.
In Uttar Pradesh, a 10-year-old girl died on July 9 when a tree branch fell on the tin shed of her house in Kaushambi, following rains. In Muzaffarnagar, a woman and her six-year-old daughter were killed after the roof of their house collapsed in heavy rain.
