The national capital experienced severe disruption on Wednesday evening due to heavy rainfall, which caused widespread flooding in many areas of the city.
Tragically, a 22-year-old woman and her toddler drowned in Ghazipur, while major roads were congested with heavy traffic and people found themselves stranded as the roads turned into waterways.
The intense rainfall led the weather office to designate Delhi as an "area of concern" in the National Flash Flood Guidance Bulletin. The department urged residents to stay indoors, secure their windows and doors, and avoid unnecessary travel.
Delhi Education Minister Atishi announced late night that all schools in the city will remain closed on Thursday. "In light of the very heavy rainfall this evening and the forecast of heavy rainfall tomorrow, all schools both government and private, will remain closed on August 1st," she posted on 'X'.
According to the police, a woman named Tanuja and her three-year-old son Priyansh drowned in a drain in Ghazipur while they were on their way to the weekly market to buy household items. The incident occurred near the Khoda Colony area where a roadside drain was being constructed, leading to their accidental fall due to waterlogging.
A heavy downpour in north Delhi's Sabji Mandi area near Robin Cinema caused a house collapse, resulting in injuries to one person. Another incident in southwest Delhi's Vasant Kunj led to a woman being injured in a wall collapse.
The inclement weather also affected air traffic, resulting in the diversion of at least 10 flights scheduled to land at the Delhi airport. Eight flights were diverted to Jaipur and two to Lucknow due to adverse weather conditions. Airlines also cautioned about the possibility of more flight disruptions.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city's primary weather station Safdarjung recorded 79.2 mm of rainfall between 5:30 pm and 8:30 pm; Mayur Vihar 119 mm; Delhi University 77.5 mm; Pusa 66.5 mm; and the Palam observatory 43.7 mm.
The traffic situation was especially chaotic on roads in Lutyens' Delhi and those leading to Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad.
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