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Floodwaters swept through northern India on Wednesday, resulting in the loss of at least five lives, according to officials. Authorities warn that more thunderstorms are on the horizon, and media reports indicate that around 10,000 residents have been evacuated from riverbank areas in Delhi, the capital city.
This year’s monsoon season has been especially severe across India, claiming the lives of at least 130 people in August alone in the northern regions. Entire villages have been submerged, infrastructure has been ravaged, and widespread destruction has ensued.
Recent floods have impacted Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab, where the Chenab and Tawi rivers have surpassed dangerous levels in multiple locations. The rising waters have triggered landslides, damaged roads, and effectively cut off parts of the mountainous areas in Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh from the rest of the country.
On Wednesday, landslides in Rajouri in Jammu and Mandi in Himachal Pradesh claimed five lives, authorities reported. The India Meteorological Department issued warnings for heavy to very heavy rain across the region, with Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh expected to see more downpours.
The Central Water Commission announced that the Yamuna River in Delhi had breached its danger level earlier in the week. In response, nearly 10,000 people have been evacuated to relief camps along major highways, a precautionary move for those living in vulnerable, low-lying areas. Similar floods were seen in Delhi in 2023, when floodwaters entered homes and the river reached its highest point in 45 years.
In Himachal Pradesh, many tourist destinations have suffered damage from landslides caused by the surging rivers, further disrupting local infrastructure. Schools and other educational institutions have been ordered shut, and residents are advised to stay indoors due to ongoing flood warnings.
In neighboring Punjab, authorities report 30 fatalities and nearly 20,000 evacuations since August 1. The floods have devastated agriculture across 150,000 hectares of crops, with waters rushing through the plains of India’s breadbasket.
The continuous heavy rain has led dams to release water, causing flooding in the plains of India and Pakistan. Pakistan has issued alerts for additional flooding in eastern Punjab after India announced plans to release water downstream from its dams. Delhi had previously issued four such warnings to Islamabad.
Since the monsoon started in late June, at least 881 people have died nationwide, with the worst flooding in four decades affecting more than 3.3 million residents of Punjab since August 26, according to local disaster management authorities.
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