Rain lashes Mumbai as IMD issues orange alert; floods worsen in Assam, showers to continue in Delhi
Mumbai: Heavy rain continued to batter Mumbai and neighbouring districts on Tuesday, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue an orange alert for Mumbai, Thane and Raigad, while flood-hit Assam saw its situation worsen with nearly 3.63 lakh people affected and Delhi remained under a rain alert after getting relief from days of hot and humid weather.
The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in Mumbai, Thane and Raigad, accompanied by gusty winds of 50-60 kmph, while Palghar remains under a yellow alert for heavy rain. Several parts of Mumbai, including Borivli, Andheri, Santacruz, Bandra and Colaba, received early-morning showers, with widespread rainfall expected across Konkan and Goa through July 26.
As a precaution, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has advised residents to filter and boil drinking water after muddy water entered the riverbed due to heavy rainfall in the catchment areas supplying Mumbai's reservoirs.
Meanwhile, the flood situation in Assam deteriorated further, with five more deaths reported, taking this year's flood toll to 10. According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), nearly 3.63 lakh people across 15 districts have been affected, while the Army has joined rescue operations amid incessant rainfall.
Water levels of the Brahmaputra and several of its tributaries continue to rise following incessant rainfall in Assam and neighbouring Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. The Central Water Commission reported that the Desang River at Desangpani in Charaideo district was flowing above its previous highest flood level, while the Dikhow, Buridehing, Brahmaputra and Dhansiri (South) rivers were also flowing above danger levels or in severe flood conditions.
In the national capital, light showers on Monday brought relief from sweltering conditions, and the IMD has forecast heavy rain over the next two days. Delhi remains under a yellow alert, with generally cloudy skies and intermittent rainfall expected through Tuesday and Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the death toll in rain-related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir rose to 23 on Monday as heavy rains triggered landslides and flash floods in the Union Territory, while Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh also witnessed widespread disruptions due to the downpour.
The rise in fatalities comes as the India Meteorological Department has forecast very heavy rainfall at a few places over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh on July 20 and 21, and heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand, Bihar, and Assam and Meghalaya on July 20.
It further said that monsoon is likely to remain active over northwest and northeast India during the next 4–5 days.
The weather office said the active monsoon conditions have been caused by the weakening of a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal and a strengthening of the monsoon current over north India.
Jammu and Kashmir remained the worst-affected as at least 11 people, including a mother and her two children, were killed in rain-related incidents across Jammu, raising the death toll to 23 over the past two days, officials said.