Weather News Updates: Manipur Landslide Toll Rises to 42; Light Rain in Delhi Brings Relief, Max Temp at 35.7 Deg C

With parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat receiving their first seasonal rains on Friday, southwest monsoon has now covered the entire country, six days before its normal date. The Monsoon had set over Kerala on May 29, three days ahead of the normal date of June 1.

“Southwest monsoon has covered the entire country on Saturday, six days before the normal date of July 8,” the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday. Parts of western Rajasthan and north Gujarat, which were yet to receive monsoon rains, received their first showers on Friday.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the landslide at a railway construction site in Manipur’s Noney district rose to 42 on Sunday evening as eight more bodies were found under the debris, officials said. Twenty people are still missing with heavy rains and fresh landslides impeding the search operations since Saturday, he said.

Bodies of 42 people have been found so far from under the debris at Tupul yard railway construction camp. Among them are 27 Territorial Army personnel and 15 civilians, including railway employees, construction workers and villagers, a defence spokesperson in Guwahati said. The Territorial Army is deployed in the area to provide security for the railway construction work.

“Relentless effort to find the remaining three missing Territorial Army personnel, and 17 civilians will continue,” he said. The Army, Assam Rifles, Territorial Army, SDRF and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are part of the search operation. “The search operation is continuing despite adverse weather conditions, owing to heavy rains and fresh landslides last night,” the spokesperson said. So far, 13 Territorial Army personnel and five civilians have been rescued.

CM Biren Singh announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for the bereaved families and Rs 50,000 each for the injured. “The loss of lives due to the massive landslides in Noney Dist is one of the most unfortunate incidents in the history of Manipur. In solidarity with the victims, we have announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for the bereaved families & Rs 50,000 each for the injured,” the CM tweeted.

Latest weather updates:

Parts of Delhi receive light showers

Parts of Delhi received light rainfall on Sunday and the maximum temperature in the city settled at 35.7 degrees Celsius, a notch below the average, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The minimum temperature was recorded at 26.2 degrees Celsius, two notches below the average, it said.

The weather office said 0.1 mm of rainfall was recorded in the capital between 9 am and 5:30 pm. The relative humidity oscillated between 83 per cent and 63 per cent. The IMD has forecast generally cloudy skies with light rain and thundershowers in Delhi on Monday. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 36 degrees Celsius and 27 degrees Celsius, it said.

On Saturday, the maximum temperature settled at 34.5 degrees Celsius and the minimum at 26.2 degrees Celsius, both two notches below the average.

Heavy Rains Lash Parts of Gujarat; 5 NDRF Teams Moved to Surat, Banaskantha, Rajkot

Heavy rains lashed parts of south Gujarat and Saurashtra regions, causing a flood-like situation in the affected areas, prompting the deployment of five National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams in Surat, Banaskantha and Rajkot districts, officials said on Sunday. Parts of Navsari and Tapi districts in south Gujarat, as well as Devbhumi Dwarka, Junagadh and Jamnagar received heavy rainfall in the 24-hour period ending 6 am on Sunday, with the state’s 30 talukas receiving rainfall of over 50 millimetres, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.

Parts of Narmada, Bharuch, Surat and Vadodara were among those that received good rainfall during the day, it said. With the India Meteorological Department predicting heavy to very rainfall in some isolated pockets of Gujarat over the next five days, the NDRF moved five of its teams to Surat, Banaskantha and Rajkot districts as “pre-monsoon deployment” from its base in Vadodara, the agency said in a Twitter update.

One team each has been moved to Surat and Banaskantha, and three to Rajkot, the specialised relief and disaster combat agency added. Navsari witnessed major waterlogging, leading to traffic jams and blockage of underpasses. In Junagadh and Devbhumi Dwarka, monsoonal rivers received water and so did local dams, officials said. As per the SEOC, over a 24-hour period ending at 6am, Vansda taluka of Navsari district received 136 mm rainfall, Khambhaliya in Devbhumi Dwarka got 114 mm rainfall, while it was 106mm in Manavadar in Junagadh, and 98 mm in Dolvan in Tapi.

-Army reconstructs bridge overnight for Amarnath Yatra pilgrims

Two bridges near Brarimarg on Baltal Axis damaged by landslides were restored by Chinar Corps which reconstructed the bridges overnight for the resumption of route for Amarnath Yatra pilgrims.

-Assam flood situation improves

Assam’s flood situation improved on Saturday as the number of affected people declined to 22.17 lakh from the previous day’s 29.70 lakh with the death of one more person that took the toll to 174, officials said. The situation in Silchar town in the Cachar district, which remained submerged for nearly two weeks, is also improving.

An Inter-Ministerial team, after completing their visit to some of the flood-affected districts to assess the damage, held a meeting here with Chief Secretary Jishnu Barua and other stakeholders. Barua requested the team members to submit their report at the earliest to the Centre so that the state government can get more central funds quickly, an official release said.

Most of the rivers are maintaining a receding trend though the Brahmaputra, Kopili, Disang, Buridihing, and the Barak are flowing above the danger mark at several places. After one person died due to the flood in the Cachar district, the toll increased to 174, according to the bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).

-IMD weather forecast for next few days 

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast enhanced rainfall activity over Odisha, Gujarat, Konkan, and Goa during the next five days, over central India on July 4 and 5, and over northwest India on July 5 and 6.

A cyclonic circulation has formed over Bangladesh and there were also signs of formation of a low pressure area over north Odisha, which could help boost monsoon rains in the region and parts of central India.

(With PTI inputs)

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