Rains continue, MeT predicts more precipitation

New Delhi: Moderate rain activity was witnessed in parts of the country today even as weathermen said heavy showers are likely in the north tomorrow.

Light to moderate rainfall was recorded in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Bihar.

At least 20 people were injured after the roof of a house collapsed in Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamsala.

According to local residents, the roof of the house gave way due to incessant rainfall in the area.

Sharp showers pounded several parts of Himachal Pradesh as monsoon remained active in the state.

The local MeT office has warned of heavy rains in the mid and lower hills over the next three days. It said the wet spell would continue till August 14.

The Public Works Department removed landslide debris from 148 roads while 132 roads are still closed in the state, an official said.

In Kangra district, which is experiencing heavy rains for past three weeks, 58 roads are closed due to landslides while 41 roads are closed in Shimla and 32 in Mandi.

Dharamshala received 138mm of rain, Paonta Sahib 99mm, Nainadevi 91mm, Gaggal 87mm, Palampur 50mm, Una 43mm, Nagrotasurian 41mm, Sarkaghat 36mm, Amb 33mm and Shimla 17mm of rain.

A cloud cover cocooned the national capital for most part of the day but muggy conditions gave residents a hard time.

Light showers occurred at a few places. The Safdarjung Observatory gauged 28 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm. Lodhi Road, Palam, Ridge and Ayanagar recorded 31.3, 2.4, 15.5 and 24.2 mm rains in the same period.

The city had a high of 32 degrees Celsius and a low of 28 degrees Celsius. The humidity levels oscillated between 97 and 78 per cent.

The Odisha government said the floods in five southern districts of the state caused a damage of Rs 218.72 crore and sent a detailed report to the Centre in this regard.

Coochbehar in West Bengal gauged a massive 144.4 mm of precipitation in 24 hours till 8.30 am.

A local MeT Department report said the monsoon trough is likely to remain subdued in southern districts of the state in Gangetic West Bengal, which may receive one or two spells of rain or thundershower till August 12.

The rain activity is likely to intensify in the region August 13 onward.

Bihar capital’s of Patna and a few other places in the state received light to moderate rainfall. Patna received 1 mm of rain, Gaya 44.6 mm and Bhagalpur 0.8 mm.

The weatherman has warned of heavy to very heavy rain in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim.

“Heavy rain is very likely over Bihar, west Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, east Madhya Pradesh and north Chhattisgarh,” it said.

—PTI