Rains wreak havoc across India; at least a dozen dead

An orange alert has been issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in the wake of heavy rain for several regions in India.

Taking into consideration the risk and losses, schools in several states including Kerala, Telangana, Maharashtra and other regions have been temporarily closed.

IMD has predicted light to heavy rainfall in different parts of India including Uttarakhand and East Uttar Pradesh till July 31. Heavy rains are likely to continue in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and West Uttar Pradesh till July 29 and over Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir till July 28.

"Isolated very heavy rainfall is also likely over Chhattisgarh on July 27 and 28 and Vidarbha on July 28," the IMD said.

In separate incidents in Telangana, more than 10 people were washed away as heavy rains and flash floods wreaked havoc in the state's northern districts, inundating more than 100 villages. Due to continuous rains, lakes streams and canals were overflowing.

On Friday, July 28, the bodies of five people were recovered, while the search continues for others.

The flash floods have cut off road links to dozens of other villages, besides those waterlogged. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the police are worked together on rescue and evacuation efforts.

Telangana chief secretary Santhi Kumari said 10,696 people from 108 villages were shifted to safer places. She said 1900 people from Moranchapalli village of Bhupalpally district and 19 workers stranded in a sand quarry near Gopalpur of Manthani, in Peddapalli district, were rescued and shifted to safer locations.

Meanwhile, at least five persons were killed and two more went missing in different rain-related incidents as an incessant downpour pounded Mumbai and most parts of Maharashtra for the third consecutive day on Thursday, officials said.

Mumbai has been grappling with heavy rains over the last few weeks, leading to waterlogging in several areas. The 'red alert' advisory was sounded as the city recorded 83.23 mm rains, its eastern suburbs 62.72 mm, and the western suburbs 95.01 mm till 6 pm on Thursday, 27 July, according to BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) Disaster Control.

As per reports, Mumbai city has had the wettest July this year since 1991, surpassing its 1,500 mm mark record, according to the BMC. Four out of the seven lakes which supply water to the city have overflowed in the last week, after reaching full capacity.

Several areas were clobbered with heavy rains in Mumbai city—Dahisar (185 mm), Borivali (147 mm), Malad (106 mm), Malvani (105 mm). Colaba (103 mm), CSMT (101 mm)—while most other areas got between 66 mm to 99 mm rainfall.

The intensity of rainfall, however, has reduced on Friday, 28 July, with the city witnessing only occasional spells of moderate to heavy showers till noon. However, IMD has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in the city during the day, officials said.

Meanwhile, heavy to moderate rain lashed parts of Delhi on Friday, with the minimum temperature settling at 26.6 degrees Celsius in the early hours of dawn, a notch above normal, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).