Landslides and flooding triggered by heavy rain have devastated villages in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, leaving many feared trapped and injured. Rescue operations are underway.
Heavy rains and landslides in Himachal Pradesh have resulted in multiple fatalities and widespread disruption, including road closures and train cancellations.
The district administrations of Kangra, Mandi and Sirmaur have been put on alert following a warning for very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in these districts on Sunday.
Himachal Pradesh has been severely affected by flash floods, cloudbursts, and landslides since the monsoon began. At least 52 people have died, and search operations are underway for those missing.
Incessant rains and flooding have caused widespread disruption in northern India, with states like Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir facing landslides, road closures, and displacement. Rescue efforts are underway as authorities grapple with the aftermath of the deluge.
At least 14 people have died in rain-related incidents as thunderstorms, strong winds and dust storms battered several parts of Gujarat, India. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast thunderstorms with lightning and strong winds of up to 50-60 kmph across the state for the next few days. Strong winds uprooted trees, hoardings, and pillars, and parts of houses collapsed in several districts, leaving many injured. The deaths were reported in Ahmedabad, Anand, Kheda, Dahod, Aravalli and Vadodara districts of Gujarat on Monday and Sunday. The IMD has also forecast heavy rainfall in isolated parts of Banaskantha, Kutch, Sabarkantha, Aravalli and Anand districts in the next three days.
The death toll from cloudburst and flash flood-related incidents in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh has risen to 14, with a search underway for 31 missing individuals. Extensive damage to homes, infrastructure, and livestock has been reported across the district.
In Arunachal Pradesh, 10 people have killed in landslides and floods related incidents as incessant monsoon rains lashed the state.
'70-80 per cent of the operations are carried out by the SDRF...We also aim to secure the area to make sure that further damage does not take place'
The meteorological centre in Shimla issued a 'red' alert on Sunday for very heavy downpour in 10 districts of Himachal Pradesh, while services on the Shimla-Kalka rail line were suspended for hours till the debris and trees fallen on the tracks following overnight rains were removed.
Bhavnagar was also one of the worst affected districts, they said, adding that more downpour is likely over the next four day in parts of the state.
Seven rivers, including the Brahmaputra, were flowing above the danger level, even as the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in the state.
Forty-one Border Road Organisation labourers working to clear snow near the high altitude border village of Mana in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district were trapped under an avalanche on Friday.
The weather office has issued a forecast of heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places in several districts of Gujarat over the next one week.
Even as rains abated in most parts of Gujarat on Friday morning, several towns and villages witnessed water logging due to swollen rivers, officials said.
While rain intensity reduced on Tuesday compared to a day ago, affecting mainly districts in the Saurashtra region, administration carried out rescue and relief operations on a large scale, shifting thousands of people to shelters.
Himachal Pradesh experienced its second snowfall of the season, leading to the closure of 15 roads, including two national highways. A tourist from New Delhi died in an accident on an icy road in the Lahaul Spiti district, while three others sustained injuries.
The situation in rain-battered Gujarat improved slightly on Thursday as the rainfall activity subsided, but Vadodara and some other parts of the state are still reeling under a flood-like situation due to overflowing rivers while the authorities continue the rescue and relief operations.
In view of the widespread rains and 'red alert' for extremely heavy showers issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for several districts, control rooms are working round the clock to monitor the situation and help stranded people, he said.
Rain-related incidents claimed nine more lives in Gujarat, taking the death toll to 16 in two days, while another 8,500 people were relocated and rescued from flood-affected areas with rains continuing to lash some parts of the state for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday, officials said.
Heavy waterlogging was witnessed in several towns and cities, while roads were closed in rural areas on Friday morning due a heavy spell.
Authorities were on their toes in Banaskantha and Patan districts and relocated thousands of people residing in low-lying areas to safer places, they said.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Thursday evening as a 'very severe cyclonic storm' with maximum wind speed reaching up to 150 kilometres per hour, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Heavy downpour continued in various parts of Gujarat on Tuesday and six people died in rain-related incidents in the last 24 hours, raising the toll to 69 since June 1, officials said.
Heavy rains in Uttarakhand caused a surge in streams that damaged buildings and shops while landslides in the hills blocked national highways and a number of rural motor roads on Thursday.
The rains were being caused due to a cyclonic circulation lying over north east Arabian sea and adjoining Saurashtra and Kutch regions, the IMD said in its bulletin.
Three national highways in Kutch, Navsari and Dang districts were blocked due to damage caused by rains. Fifty one state highways and over 400 panchayat roads have also been damaged, state Disaster Management Minister Rajendra Trivedi told reporters.
The India meteorological department on Sunday issued an 'orange' alert for Gujarat, saying the state was expected to receive "heavy to very heavy rainfall" on July 24.
Many villages were cut off as several roads connecting them were inundated.
Cyclone Biparjoy has left a trail of destruction in Gujarat's Kutch and Saurashtra regions as some 1,000 villages are still without power with hundreds of electric poles getting damaged, while several coastal villages were flooded due to heavy rains and incoming seawater, officials said on Friday, a day after the storm made landfall.
Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat on Thursday evening with a wind speed of 115-125 kmph gusting to 140 kmph as heavy rains lashed the coastal region, where several areas plunged into darkness due to power cuts and a large number of trees, electric poles and hoardings got uprooted.
As many as 45 people have been killed due to cyclone Tauktae across 12 districts of Gujarat, officials.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the loss of lives in Uttarakhand and noted that rescue operations are underway to help the affected.
As many as 79 people have lost their lives in incidents related to cyclone Tauktae in different parts of Gujarat, officials said on Thursday as the authorities carried out restoration work in affected areas and launched damage assessment exercise.
All educational institutions in Shimla and Kullu districts will remain closed on Monday as heavy to extremely heavy rains continue to lash the state, district officials said.