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 family members of the missing persons who have been camping at the site for the past seven days have now lost hope and are praying for the recovery of bodies to perform last rites.
Heavy rains last week caused massive floods and landslides in large parts of the state, especially in the coastal Konkan and Western Maharashtra regions.
At least 28 people died in rain-related incidents Sunday as heavy downpours lashed north and northwest India, causing landslides, traffic chaos and house collapses, as well as a dam breach which inundated several villages in Haryana.
Jalore, Sirohi, Pali and Barmer districts are the most affected and facing flood-like situations, the official said.
Six weather stations across Delhi recorded over 100 mm of rain in a single day, the India meteorological department (IMD) said on Thursday, categorising it as an "extremely intense spell".
With four more people, including two children, falling prey to rain-related incidents, the death toll in the deluge on Monday increased to 37 in Rajasthan.
The Punjab government has ordered the closure of schools till July 13 while in Chandigarh schools are closed till Thursday.
Incessant rains over the past two days in eastern Rajasthan have led to a flood-like situation in the region and severed road connectivity to many areas.
Several deaths were reported across the country due to rain-related incidents like lightning strikes and drowning.
All efforts should be on relief, restoration and rehabilitation, Nadda told reporters in Shimla after visiting the rain-affected areas of Poanta in Sirmaur and Shimla town.
Nine more people have died as heavy rains lashed Uttar Pradesh for the third day, taking the death toll to 28, while a red alert has been sounded on Tuesday in six districts including the worst-hit Barabanki and Gonda.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday conducted an aerial survey of rain-ravaged areas of Uttarakhand to asses the damage which the state government has pegged at Rs 7,000 crore.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said in a statement that 24 more deaths have been reported in the past few days, taking the death toll in rain-related incidents like drowning and wall-collapse to 111.
Incessant rains, due to the depression in the Bay of Bengal, have wrecked havoc in Nellore, Chittoor and Kadapa districts with several tanks being breached.
The torrential rain that took place between September 27 and 30 has created a flood-like situation in 15 districts of the state, including the state capital.
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.
According to the state government, 60,000 tourists have so far been evacuated from the hill state.
Simultaneous activation of both Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal low-pressure systems has led to the state receiving an excess 65 per cent rainfall.
A new low pressure over south east Bay of Bengal was expected to bring more rains to Tamil Nadu, where the death toll rose to 184.
As many as 48 persons were injured in these incidents and 25 still missing, while so far, 2,29,074 persons have been evacuated from the flood and rain-affected affected areas and moved to safer places, the government said in a statement in Mumbai.
The state has suffered losses of Rs 4,000 crore and the figure is likely to go up as estimates continue to pour in, he said.
Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has warned about the possibilities of landslides in the hilly areas already hit by extremely heavy rainfall in the past few days and directed people living in the region and government authorities to be vigilant.
A 22-year-old person was killed and another one injured on Thursday after a tree fell on their hut in Mumbai as moderate to heavy rains lashed the city and its suburbs in the last 24 hours, officials said.
The death toll in rain-related incidents has gone up to eight in Telangana's Medak district with a factory worker allegedly getting drowned in flood water following heavy showers.
"Maharashtra is again under a lockdown. Nearly 100 people have died due to floods," he said.
While flight operations have already resumed, inter-intra state train services also were partially operating since Tuesday night, they said.
Mumbai recorded over 250 mm of rain in just three hours (between midnight and 3 am), touching 305 mm by 7 am on Sunday, a meteorologist said.
Overburdening of hills with construction coupled with saturation of soil and seepage seem to be responsible for landslides in Shimla city, said Principal Scientific Officer, Himachal Pradesh Council for Science Technology and Environment (HIMCOSTE) S S Randhawa.
Seven persons, including a woman were killed, when three houses were buried in a landslide following heavy showers in the wee hours of the day, taking the toll to 24 in rain-related incidents in two days in Uttarakhand.
Many people are feared trapped following two landslides at Shiv temple in the Summer Hill area and the Fagli area of Shimla city.
The death toll on account of the cyclone Hudhud stood at 43 in Andhra Pradesh with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu assuring that power supply would be back in the affected coastal districts by October 25.
The Northern Railways said it has cancelled around 17 trains and diverted around 12 others, while traffic has been suspended at four locations due to waterlogging.
Over 20,000 people were evacuated to safer places in these three districts. State capital Mumbai too witnessed water-logging in many areas after overnight rains on Thursday.
Nearly 200 people have been killed in floods and rain-related incidents in Pakistan with four days of incessant showers, officials said on Monday.
The threat of COVID-19 still persists, Thackeray said.
Rains on Friday continued to batter several parts of Tamil Nadu under the influence of an active North-East monsoon as the toll in rain-related incidents in the state stood at 48.
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.
The human toll in the floods and relentless rain across the country reached almost 200 by Thursday, even as thousands in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Assam, Odisha, West Bengal, and elsewhere were forced out of their homes into temporary shelters.
Landslides blocked roads, many villages went without electricity and the death toll climbed to 52 as authorities on Wednesday faced the aftermath of the rains that had battered Uttarakhand for over two days.
