Delhi: Yamuna just 1 meter away from breaching flood mark
What's the story
The Yamuna River in Delhi breached the 205.33m danger mark and was flowing at 206.32m at 8:00am on Tuesday, raising fears of floods in the national capital.
Reportedly, the highest flood level of the Yamuna River is 207.49m, which was last recorded in 1978.
The sudden surge in the river occurred as Haryana released over one lakh cusecs of water from the Hathnikund barrage.
Rescue
Authorities start evacuations in vulnerable areas
Reports said the Yamuna River crossed the danger mark earlier than expected.
Meanwhile, evacuations have started in low-lying areas that are more vulnerable to flooding. The people in these areas would be shifted to community centers and relief camps.
The Old Yamuna Bridge was also temporarily closed for rail and road traffic from 6:00am on Tuesday.
Twitter Post
Yamuna flows above danger mark
#WATCH | Water level of River Yamuna continues to flow above the danger level in Delhi's Old Railway Bridge area. Railway and traffic movement on the Bridge has been stopped.
— ANI (@ANI) July 11, 2023
At 8 am today, water level of River Yamuna recorded at 206.32 metres at Old Railway Bridge. The highest… pic.twitter.com/sn4FGWQp9H
Action
No threat of floods, says Kejriwal
To monitor the flood-like situation, the Delhi government has set up 16 control rooms.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday chaired a high-level meeting and said his government had identified about 41,000 people to evacuate if needed.
However, he asserted that there was no flood threat in Delhi as the weather predictions said the intensity of rainfall would gradually decrease.
Quotes
IMD issues orange alert for Delhi
Kejriwal stated, "The last time it rained this much was back in 1982 when there was 169mm of rainfall in one day."
Notably, Delhi reportedly received 107mm of rainfall on Monday, while on Sunday, it saw 153mm of rainfall—the highest in a single day in July since 1982.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has already issued an "orange" alert in Delhi for Tuesday.
More details
Schools remain shut on Tuesday
Due to incessant rains in the past week, schools remained closed in Delhi and neighboring areas of Uttar Pradesh.
On Monday, the Education Department of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said all schools run, aided, or recognized by the MCD will stay shut on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the IMD has forecast six more days of rainfall for Delhi and its neighboring regions.
Twitter Post
People forced to live on streets
#WATCH Delhi: The Yamuna River's rising water level forces residents living on its banks to live on the streets.
— ANI (@ANI) July 10, 2023
(Visuals from Mayur Vihar Extension) pic.twitter.com/nnDfVJOm1i
More information
5 killed as rains lash Delhi
According to The Hindu, five people were killed in Delhi in rain-related incidents in the last two days.
To note, heavy rains have battered much of North India in the last week. More than 40 people have died in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi combined.
Most of these states are battling landslides and flood-like situations.