Death toll rises, thousands evacuated as rains continue to lash parts of India

ANKARA

The death toll due to heavy monsoon rains in north India rose further on Monday and thousands of people were evacuated as rains continued to lash parts of northern India, officials said.

Indian Weather Department said that "significant rainfall" has been recorded across several regions and states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Goa.

Authorities in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh – the worst affected state due to the rains – said on Monday at least 19 people have died in rain-related incidents.

“We have so far reports of 19 deaths in the last two days in the rain-related incidents, including road accidents, flash floods, and landslides,” Praveen Bhardwaj, an official at State's Disaster Management Authority, told Anadolu over the phone.

In several states of northern India, officials said, many rivers are overflowing, and roads and residential areas are submerged due to continuous rains.

Videos circulating on social media showed cars and bridges swept away by gushing waters in Himachal Pradesh.

Authorities have also ordered closure of schools in various areas in northern India.

Himachal Pradesh state's Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Monday that situation is being monitored continuously and thousands of people have been evacuated to safer places from the river beds in the state, which is also a popular tourist destination.

Sukhu also said tourists from across the country are stuck in districts Kullu and Lahaul Spiti due to damaged roads, adding that they will be evacuated by road or air as soon as the weather permits.

Authorities said over 1,300 roads, including highways and link roads, have been impacted in the Himalayan state and efforts are on to clear the roads for traffic.

Issuing a red alert for Himachal Pradesh, the weather department warned that the state would experience "heavy to very heavy rainfall" on Monday.

Earlier, deaths related to bad weather were reported in Uttar Pradesh state, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir.

In the national capital New Delhi, as authorities pressed more machinery to clear the waterlogged streets following heavy rains, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that floods are unlikely in Delhi.

Records showed on Sunday that New Delhi recorded the highest single-day rainfall for July since 1982 – 153mm (over 6 inches).

Delhi Fire Service officials said on Monday that two people died the previous day, and 13 incidents of house collapse were reported.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Office said on Monday that the premier spoke to senior ministers and officials, and took stock of the situation in the wake of excessive rainfall in parts of India.

"Local administrations, NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) and SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) teams are working to ensure the well-being of those affected," his office tweeted.

Mahesh Palawat, the vice president of Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency, told Anadolu on Sunday that rain will continue for 2-3 days in northern India.