Heavy monsoon rains in Delhi on Saturday killed eight people and caused a lot of problems throughout the metropolis. A heavy rainstorm that flooded homes and damaged infrastructure caused a shrine wall to fall down and a small boy to drown.
In a terrible event in the Jaitpur neighborhood of south Delhi, a wall of a shrine fell on adjoining shanties, killing seven persons, two of whom were women and two of whom were small girls. The police also said that an 8-year-old kid perished near Khera Khurd in Narela, Outer Delhi, after falling into an open drain. The 78.7mm of rain that fell throughout the course of the day was a big reason for these events, as well as the collapse of a two-story building in Ballimaran, Old Delhi. The good news is that there were no deaths in the latter.
The city’s traffic also came to a stop because of the heavy rain. Several major underpasses that are known to flood, like Pul Prahladpur and Zakhira, were blocked for a few hours. People who used Ring Road and Outer Ring Road had a lot of trouble getting about because of heavy traffic. Many said they had to wait a long time and pay extra for cab services. For a lot of people, public transportation was a big problem because busses and Metro stations were too crowded.
The city’s infrastructure was under even more stress when a part of the footpath near the Masoodpur flyover in Vasant Kunj caved in while Metro construction was going on. There were no injuries, however the area is now blocked off and traffic is being redirected. By 10 a.m., the Public Works Department (PWD) had received about 25 reports of waterlogging from different localities, such as Keshavpuram, Seelampur, and Anand Parbat Road.
According to reports, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) gave conflicting weather forecasts for the day, first issuing a “red alert” for heavy rain, then a “yellow alert” for light rain, and lastly a “orange alert” for moderate rain. By the end of Saturday, there was a “yellow alert” in force, and a “green alert” said that light rain would fall on Sunday and the rest of the week.
Even though it was a mess, the rain did make a big difference in the temperature. The lowest temperature on Saturday was 23.8°C, and the highest was 26.4°C. This was the lowest maximum temperature for August in at least 34 years. Delhi airport’s flight operations were also affected, with more than 300 aircraft being delayed on Saturday.