As a result of incessant and heavy rains in the north of the country, the Yamuna rose to 208.48 meters this Thursday morning, causing flooding of the roads near the Red Fort, the Kashmiri Gate, the Central Secretariat and the Civil Lines, among others , residents are also affected.
In the capital’s thoroughfares, cars of various sizes can be seen under the water of the river, which also covers parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority dispatched special teams to help evacuate more than 16,000 people from the already flooded areas, and the Delhi Metro reported the temporary closure of the nearby railway station.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged people not to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary, reporting on the closure of schools and the opening of aid facilities.
He also said that several areas of the capital will face water supply restrictions as three sewage treatment plants stop operating due to the river’s flooding.
According to the territory’s deputy governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, rainwater in Himachal Pradesh and Haryana is increasing the flow of the Yamuna, but he cautioned that as rainfall decreases, the threat in Delhi is expected to lessen.
For its part, the Indian Meteorological Office forecast that the heavy rains, which have not stopped in the north for almost a week, would continue for several more days.
The rains were extremely heavy in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, damaging infrastructure and disrupting essential services due to river flooding and landslides.
Images of collapsed bridges and homes, roads damaged or blocked by extreme flooding, and deadly landslides continue to surface.
npg/lrd