Glimpses of swollen rivers, submerged ghats and waterlogged neighbourhoods after relentless monsoon rains lashed Uttarakhand on August 18, 2026.
Torrential rains have caused widespread devastation across several Indian states, leading to at least 11 deaths in Assam and Uttarakhand, pushing rivers above danger levels, and disrupting daily life with landslides, floods, and school closures. States like Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, West Bengal, and Jammu & Kashmir are also grappling with the monsoon fury, while Meghalaya faces an unusual rainfall deficit.
Cloudbursts and heavy rains overnight left a trail of destruction in Uttarakhand's capital Dehradun and its neighbouring areas on Tuesday, sweeping away at least five people and leaving more than 500 stranded in different locations.
Cloudbursts and heavy rains caused widespread destruction in Dehradun and surrounding areas, leaving people stranded and causing damage to infrastructure.
Twelve people, including three of a family, were killed and six injured in heavy overnight rains that triggered flooding and house collapse as several rivers swelled in Uttarakhand, officials said on Thursday.
The labourers, who are said to be of Nepali origin, were engaged in the construction of a hotel.
The water level at the Old Railway Bridge crossed the 208-metre mark Wednesday night and rose to 208.48 metres by 8 am on Thursday. It is expected to rise further, according to the Central Water Commission, which has termed it an "extreme situation".
The flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage saw a marginal rise on Tuesday afternoon, oscillating between 50,000 and 60,000 cusecs.
Incessant rains unleashed more death and destruction on Monday in parts of north India, with 37 people killed in landslides and other rain-related incidents in the last two days even as the Army and NDRF teams stepped in to intensify the relief and rescue operations.
The water level of the Yamuna in Delhi breached the danger mark again on Sunday following a surge in discharge from the Hathnikund Barrage into the river after heavy rain in parts of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
The water level of the Yamuna in Delhi, which has been hovering around the danger mark of 205.33 metres for the last few days, dropped below the threshold again on Saturday morning.
As the weather improved in parts of north India, which was pummelled by heavy rains for days, authorities on Wednesday worked on a war footing to rescue stranded tourists, restore vehicular traffic on arterial roads and prevent floodwaters from entering new areas.
The Yamuna river in Delhi swelled to the highest recorded level in 10 years on Tuesday and is expected to rise further, officials said on Tuesday.
The situation could worsen if weather predictions of more rain in the capital and upper catchment areas come true.
To avert another Uttarakhand-type catastrophe, we must change course. We should stop pandering to the Indian elite's insatiable appetite for electricity, which is driving reckless dam construction, says Praful Bidwai
The water level of the Yamuna in Delhi on Tuesday followed a downward trend and dropped below the danger mark of 205.33 metres by 8 pm, the Central Water Commission's data showed.
Despite high exposure to floods, Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim are the best performing states in terms of flood early warning systems (EWS), according to the report by independent policy research think tank The Council on Energy Environment and Water.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday urged the Centre to intervene to ensure that levels of the Yamuna, flowing at an all-time high of 207.55 metres, don't rise further.
The NRSC satellite imagery revealed that the lake covered approximately 162.7 hectares. Its area increased to 167.4 hectares on September 28 but drastically reduced to 60.3 hectares.
Bharadwaj said it has not rained in Delhi in the last 3-4 days, yet still the water level in Yamuna reached 208.66 metres.
Very light rains and thundershowers occurred at isolated places in Uttar Pradesh though, and a fresh warning of heavy showers was issued in Himachal Pradesh as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely in several parts of the country, including the northern region, over the next six-seven days.
'For lakhs of people in the flood-afflicted state, battling against the elements is taking a huge toll. This is the time of the year that apples ripen, rice starts being harvested and preparations start in full swing to put aside some of the food stocks for the long winter months ahead. At this moment, though, people there believe if they can succeed in coming out of this calamity in one piece they will have won the war,' says Rashme Sehgal.
Two major hydel projects being built by construction majors GVK and L&T have suffered severe damages in the floods which hit Uttarakhand last week.
