New Delhi: Four rain-related deaths were reported from Odisha and Telangana on Sunday and a red alert of extremely heavy showers was issued for two districts in Maharashtra. In North India, rains lashed Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and parts of Uttar Pradesh.
However, Delhiites witnessed sultry weather as humidity levels shot up to 91 % and the maximum temperature settled at 36.5 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal. The weatherman has forecast only light, isolated rains over the next two days.
The flood situation in Assam improved marginally, while Bihar continued to be in the grip of the deluge.
The number of people affected by the deluge in Bihar rose by about 12,500 in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 81,44,356 in 16 districts, the state disaster management department said.
No fresh district was affected by the flood on Sunday and 33 teams of NDRF and SDRF have evacuated 5.46 lakh people so far, it said.
A total of 11,812 people were affected by the floods in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Baksa districts of Assam on Sunday, against 13,300 the previous day, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said.
In Odisha, heavy rains caused by a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal led to a flood-like situation in several parts of the state, snapping road connectivity, damaging mud houses and crops.
On Saturday night, two members of a family were killed at a village in Patnagarh block of Balangir district after a wall of their home collapsed due to heavy rains.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall coupled with strong surface wind is likely to persist in many parts of the state till Monday under the impact of the low-pressure area, which has now weakened and lies over Jharkhand and its neighbouring areas, the Meteorological Centre said.
The Met Centre has forecast the likelihood of the formation of another low-pressure area over north Bay of Bengal around August 19.
An octogenarian and her 50-year-old daughter were killed in Nagarkurnool district of Telangana after a wall of their home collapsed on them. Heavy rains have been lashing some districts of the state for the past couple of days.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its daily weather report has forecast thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and very heavy to extremely heavy rains on Monday.
The Met department issued a red alert of extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in Pune and Satara districts of Maharashtra on Monday, an official said.
The forecast also predicted heavy rainfall at isolated places in Mumbai, Raigad, and Palghar from Monday onwards, he said, adding that the intensity of rains would reduce from Tuesday.
The IMD classifies minimum 204.5 mm rainfall in 24 hours as extremely heavy. A red alert requires authorities to take preventive steps to minimise damage.
An IMD official said rest of the region is expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places during the week.
Heavy rainfall in catchment areas of various dams in western Maharashtra has prompted authorities to release water from them, Irrigation department officials said.
Water from the Koyna dam in Satara district is being released at the rate of 52,146 cusecs in the downstream Koyna river, a district official said. The dam is currently filled to 86 % of its total capacity of 86.08 TMC (one thousand million cubic feet).
The Chhattisgarh government has also issued directives to district officials to remain alert to deal with a possible flood-like situation.
In South Bastar, several rivers and rivulets are in spate due to which the road connectivity has been cut off in some parts.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday directed all district collectors and superintendents of police to remain alert in view of the continuous rainfall.
In Kerala's Idduki, a ground-penetrating radar will be used to locate bodies buried in the landslide at Pettimudi in the district, where the death toll has risen to 58 with the recovery of three more bodies, a senior official said.
The GPR would assist the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police, fire force personnel and locals, who have been engaged in search and rescue operations for the last nine days, District Collector H Dineshan said.
A massive mound of earth and slush, triggered by heavy rains, had flattened a row of 20 one-room row houses made of tin and asbestos sheets, which housed at least 82 workers, at Pettimudi in Rajamala on August 7.
Intermittent rains in Uttarakhand caused landslips that blocked around 100 roads, including national highways leading to the famous Himalayan temples of Kedarnath and Badrinath.
Rains and overcast conditions in Dehradun led to cancellation of Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat's tour of the rain-ravaged villages of Pithoragarh district.
During the last 24 hours in Rajasthan, 115 mm rainfall was recorded in Merta city of Nagaur, followed by 100 mm in Sedwa of Barmer, 85 mm in Raipur of Pali and 65 mm in Ramsar of Barmer district, the Met department said.
In Uttar Pradesh, Kanpur was the hottest place at 35.8 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature in Lucknow rose to 35.7 degrees Celsius.
Haryana and Punjab also recorded near-normal temperatures. Chandigarh recorded a high of 34 degrees Celsius, according to the meteorological department here.
The maximum temperature in Ambala, Hisar, Karnal and Narnaul settled at 34 degrees Celsius, 36.4 degrees Celsius, 33.6 degrees Celsius and 35 degrees Celsius, respectively.
PTI
