Rain continues in Uttar Pradesh, 19 dead in 24 hours

At least 19 people were killed in the past 24 hours as heavy rainfall lashed Uttar Pradesh, disrupting normal life as waterlogging forced some schools to shut for a day. Roof collapses, cases of drowning and deaths due to lightning were reported in parts of the state.

Several parts, including Lucknow and Barabanki, faced waterlogging, causing inconvenience for the commuters. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted moderate to heavy downpours in many parts of the country till September 14.

“Heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely at isolated places over Odisha; heavy rainfall at isolated places over Uttarakhand, East Uttar Pradesh, East Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura,” the IMD said.

“Thunderstorm with lightning and gusty winds are very likely at isolated places over Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and with lightning at isolated places over Uttar Pradesh, East Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Gangetic West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, North Interior Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal and Kerala and Mahe,” it added.

According to the weather office, heavy rainfall is likely in the eastern region of Uttar Pradesh till September 14 while light rains will continue till September 17, an official of the relief commissioner’s office said, reported news agency PTI.

The western region of Uttar Pradesh is also likely to get rain and showers till September 17, though there is an alert for lightning over the state till September 15.

Several districts, including Etawah, Auraiya, Gonda, Kannauj, Ayodhya and Basti are expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall, it said.

In Lucknow and Lakhimpur Kheri, schools were ordered to remain shut and people were asked not to venture out in view of the possibility of severe lightning.

The Nipun Assessment Test (NAT) examination in all basic schools was also suspended on Monday.

The IMD issued an orange alert in Dehradun, Champawat, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts of Uttarakhand, predicting heavy rain on September 13 (Wednesday). A yellow alert was sounded in isolated areas of 12 districts, following a forecast of heavy rainfall.

Continuous rain in some regions in Tehri and Bageshwar districts triggered landslides and house collapses. Schools in Champawat and Udham Singh Nagar were closed amid the rain alert.

Rajasthan is likely to experience light to moderate rainfall over the next few days, the weather office said. There is also a possibility of isolated showers in eastern Rajasthan on September 12 and 13.

In the past 24 hours, some regions in Dholpur and Banswara districts witnessed heavy to very heavy rainfall, with Dholpur receiving the highest recorded rainfall of 23 mm. Moreover, light to moderate rain was recorded in various parts of the Bharatpur, Jaipur, Kota, Udaipur and Ajmer divisions, the weather office said.

Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal are likely to experience light to moderate rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning and occasional heavy downpours in the coming days. Odisha may also experience isolated to very heavy rainfall on September 14-15, the IMD said.

East Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana are also likely to see light to moderate rains in the coming days, it added.

Assam and Meghalaya may see light to moderate rains and thunderstorms with isolated heavy rainfall, while Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura may be affected between September 11 and 15, according to the weather office