Heavy rain brings Delhi to its knees, 2 drown in Ghazipur; schools closed

Heavy rainfall unleashed chaos in the national capital on Wednesday evening, 31 July, inundating large parts of the city with a 22-year-old woman and her toddler drowning in Ghazipur, while key stretches were choked with unending traffic and people left stranded as roads resembled rivers.

The torrential downpour prompted the weather office to include Delhi in its list of "areas of concern" in the National Flash Flood Guidance Bulletin. The department advised people to remain indoors, secure windows and doors, and refrain from unnecessary travel.

Delhi education minister Atishi announced late night that all schools in the city will remain closed on Thursday. "In light of the very heavy rainfall this evening and the forecast of heavy rainfall tomorrow, all schools both government and private will remain closed on August 1st," she posted on 'X'.

According to police in Ghazipur, Tanuja and her three-year-old son Priyansh were out to buy household items from a weekly market when they slipped into a drain due to waterlogging and drowned. The incident occurred near the Khoda Colony area, where the roadside drain was under construction.

The heavy downpour also led to a house collapse in north Delhi's Sabji Mandi area near Robin Cinema, injuring one person. In another incident in southwest Delhi's Vasant Kunj, a woman was injured in a wall collapse.

The inclement weather also hit air traffic. At least 10 flights scheduled to land at the Delhi airport were diverted -- eight to Jaipur and two to Lucknow -- due to inclement weather conditions. Airlines also warned of the possibility of more flight disruptions.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city's primary weather station Safdarjung recorded 79.2 mm of rainfall between 5:30 pm and 8:30 pm; Mayur Vihar 119 mm; Delhi University 77.5 mm; Pusa 66.5 mm; and the Palam observatory 43.7 mm.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena said he has asked officers to remain on alert.

"Apart from ensuring minimum inconvenience to people in general, they are advised to specifically address issues at sites prone to waterlogging, including coaching centres," he said in the post on 'X'.

The traffic situation was especially chaotic on roads in Lutyens' Delhi and those leading to Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad.

Old Rajinder Nagar, where students were protesting the death of three UPSC aspirants due to flooding in a coaching institute basement, was under knee-deep water. In Connaught Place, water gushed into many showrooms and restaurants.

Widespread waterlogging prompted the traffic police to issue an advisory, asking commuters to avoid certain roads.

They said vehicular movement was hit on the carriageway from Moolchand towards Chirag Delhi, both carriageways on Anuvrat Marg, Outer Ring Road, Syama Prasad Mukherjee Marg and Mahatma Gandhi Marg among other key roads.

The traffic police also suggested alternative routes and highlighted diversions imposed for commuters to consider given the waterlogging.

Multiple areas, including in Kashmere Gate, Karol Bagh and Pragati Maidan, were marooned following the heavy downpour.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi said it received four complaints about waterlogging and three calls about fallen trees from different parts of Delhi. Power cuts were also reported across the city.

In Old Delhi's Daryaganj area, the boundary wall of a school collapsed upon cars parked outside while the road beneath caved in.

In South Delhi's Chhatarpur area, slippers were seen floating on waterlogged streets as vehicles drove by.

There was chaos in the Pragati Maidan tunnel as well due to waterlogging. The ITO intersection, the Dhaula Kuan area and the road towards the airport witnessed traffic snarls due to inundation.

Rainwater gushed into the Press Club of India, where people were seen sitting in knee-deep water in a purported photo shared online.

"There has been very heavy rainfall in Delhi in the last two hours. Delhi Govt and MCD are maintaining a close watch on low lying areas and vulnerable waterlogging locations, to ensure no untoward incident takes place," she said in another post on 'X'.

The national capital recorded a maximum temperature of 37.8 degrees Celsius during the day.

The IMD has predicted a wet spell in the city till 5 August.