Heavy Rainfall, Flooding Likely In Himachal, Uttarakhand This Week, Says IMD

(MENAFN- Live Mint) New Delhi: North India's hilly states are unlikely to get any respite from the relentless downpour, with Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand set to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall till Thursday, according to the latest forecast from the apex weather office. Heavy rainfall could lead to low to moderate flash floods in eight districts of Himachal and 11 districts of Uttarakhand, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Since the onset of southwest monsoon on 20 June, incessant rain-related incidents have claimed 119 lives in Himachal Pradesh. The hill state has reported incidents of 34 flash floods, 22 cloudbursts and 21 landslides. These incidents have led to widespread damage to private property and public infrastructure.

Also Read | IMD issues RED ALERT for Kerala, predicts heavy rains till July 24 IMD weather forecast

For other parts of northwest India, the IMD has predicted heavy rain over Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, west Uttar Pradesh, east Uttar Pradesh, west Rajasthan, east Rajasthan, and Haryana till Thursday.

The country has seen good rains so far in the June-September monsoon season. As on 20 July, India received 366.4 mm rainfall, about 7% more than the normal level of 342.1 mm.

Other parts of the country are also likely to get heavy rains this week, the weather bureau said.

"Heavy to very heavy rainfall over sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim and northeastern states during 20-26 July and increase in rainfall over coastal Odisha from 23 July." the IMD said. The southern states of Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu are also likely to get continued heavy-to-very heavy rainfall over the week.

Also Read | Heavy rains to pound capital city until July 21, IMD issues 'yellow alert'

t In west India, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places over Konkan and Goa, ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Kutch during 20-26 July, and heavy rain over Marathawada on 21 July, the IMD said.

Parts of east and central India are likely to get isolated but very heavy rain, especially in Chhattisgarh, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Gangetic West Bengal this week, the weather forecast said. Heavy rainfall is also very likely over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands till Friday.

The Northeast will get isolated very heavy rainfall, with Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Tripura likely to bear the brunt till Friday.

The weather office has advised suspension of fishing operations in the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and its surrounding areas till Thursday, and has asked fishermen to avoid venturing into the waters during the period.

Govt on disaster combat

In the wake of the rise in the frequency and intensity of rain-related calamities in Himachal, Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday directed the formation of a central team with experts from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) Roorkee, IIT Indore, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) Pune to assess the situation. The Centre has also dispatched an Inter-Ministerial Central Team for an on-the-spot assessment of damages.

MENAFN20072025007365015876ID1109824005