India Rains highlights: Rains batter Uttarakhand as 11 more die, UP sees 4 fatalities; Kerala dams open shutter

Heavy rains lashed several parts of north India, including Uttarakhand, where at least 24 people were killed in rain-related incidents, while a red alert for 10 dams was issued in Kerala due to incessant downpour in the southern state where 35 people have lost their lives so far in the floods and landslides. The Kerala government has already announced that it would provide Rs 4 lakh to dependents of those deceased.

Scattered rainfall brings down dust pollution level in Delhi

Scattered rainfall over the national capital significantly brought down the dust pollution level, keeping the city's air quality index in the 'good' category at 82, authorities said on Tuesday.

Land surfaces are wet and therefore, dust re-suspension is minimum, leading to low PM 10 pollutant, said the Ministry of Earth Sciences' forecast body SAFAR.

PM10 is particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometers and is inhalable into the lungs. These particles include dust, pollen and mold spores.

The presence of western disturbance has led to scattered rainfall over north India and low biomass burning, the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said. (PTI)

Members of National Disaster Response Force evacuate people to safer places from a flooded area in Udham Singh Nagar

Farmers' crops getting damaged due to rains in mandis, govt watching as mute spectator: Hooda

Senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said on Tuesday that farmers' crops are getting damaged due to rains in mandis as the Haryana government is neither lifting them nor providing tarpaulin sheets to farmers to cover their produce.

The former chief minister said on one hand, farmers are standing in queues in the mandis to sell their produce, while on the other, they have to run from pillar to post for DAP fertilisers. (PTI)

25-30 trekkers rescued from Gangotri trek by SDRF

Around 25 to 30 trekkers stranded in Gomukh Trek in Uttarakhand were rescued by the State Disaster Response Force personnel late on Monday night. The team of trekkers had got stranded along the Gomukh trek on Monday when the road was blocked by boulders falling from the hills one kilometre ahead of Devgad following incessant rains, SDRF jawan Kuldip Singh said. An SDRF team left for the spot after the Gangotri police post came to know of the incident late on Monday night. (PTI)

Three shutters of Cheruthoni dam in Idukki opened

Shutters of Cheruthoni dam, part of the Idukki reservoir in Kerala, were opened on Tuesday to create more storage capacity in anticipation of the heavy rainfall predicted in its catchment area over the next two days.

Shutters of Idamalayar dam in Ernakulam and Pampa in Pathanamthitta were also opened in the morning as water in these reservoirs had almost reached the danger levels. Three sirens were sounded prior to the opening of each of the shutters of Cheruthoni dam, which was last opened three years ago, Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) said in its Facebook page.

Over 300 people rescued from flood-affected Uttarakhand: NDRF

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has rescued over 300 people from flood-affected areas of Uttarakhand, the federal force said on Tuesday.

The NDRF has deployed 15 teams in the state, where 16 people have died in rain-related incidents so far. The Kumaon region of the hill state has been severely hit by heavy rains, leading to razing of houses and leaving many trapped in the debris.

"Rescue operation is in progress and so far, teams have evacuated more than 300 stranded persons from Udham Singh Nagar district and other flood-affected areas," an NDRF spokesperson said. (PTI)

IMD forecasts more rain in Odisha; rivers in northern region in spate

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast more rain on Tuesday and Wednesday in Odisha, which has already been battered by low-pressure area-induced downpour for the last three days.

Fishermen were advised not to venture into the Bay of Bengal for the next 48 hours, while water levels in Subarnarekha, Budhabalang and Jalaka rivers in northern Odisha were on the rise, the weatherman said.

The MeT Department forecast light to moderate rain or thundershowers in both coastal and interior regions. (PTI)

Kerala received 135 per cent extra rain this month, says IMD

As Kerala braces for another spell of downpour from October 20, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data shows that the southern state has received 135 per cent excess rain during the period from October 1 to 19. During the heavy spell on October 16 when the IMD issued a Red alert indicating extremely heavy rainfall, numerous incidents of landslips and other rain-related accidents were reported from south-central districts of Kerala, resulting in at least 24 deaths. (PTI)

U’khand rains: Kejriwal urges AAP workers to help people

With incessant rain wreaking havoc in various parts of Uttarakhand, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday asked his party workers in the state to help people in every possible way.

Eleven more deaths were reported in Uttarakhand on Tuesday as incessant rains continued to lash various parts of the state, especially Kumaon region, razing houses to the ground and leaving many trapped in the debris. (PTI)

"Around 80-100 people went to Uttarakhand for Chardham Yatra. Out of them,six people are stranded in Badrinath andKedarnath. Due to heavy rainfall, helicopters can't reach there.We arewaiting for better weather conditions,"Rajendra Trivedi, Disaster Management Minister, told ANI.

"Due to heavy rain in Izatnagar, ninetrains were cancelled andthree were terminated. One train from Kathgodam-Haridwar will go from Bareilly instead of Kathgodam anda second train from Kathgodam to Lucknow will go from Izatnagar (IZN) to Lucknow,"Sudhir Singh, Senior DCM, Moradabad has said.

"About 200 people who were stuck at Lemon Tree resort located at Ramnagar-Ranikhet route have been evacuated. So far, 24-25 are dead due to incessant rains withmaximum casualties reported from Nainital district,"DGP Ashok Kumar told ANI.

2 labourers die of electrocution after coming in contact with solar panel

Two labourers died of electrocution in Bisalpur road here after coming in contact with a solar panel following heavy rains, police said on Tuesday.

Superintendent of Police (city) Ravindra Kumar said two labourers -- Shekhan Khan (40) and Bobby (35) -- were working in an under-construction colony on Sunday and got injured due to electrocution. (PTI)

Incessant rain claims 11 more lives in U'khand; Nainital cut off from rest of state

Eleven more deaths were reported in Uttarakhand on Tuesday as incessant rains continued to lash various parts of the state, especially Kumaon region, razing houses to the ground and leaving many trapped in the debris.

Nainital was cut off from the rest of the state with three roads leading to the popular tourist spot blocked due to a series of landslides.

Eleven deaths in rain related-incidents were reported on Tuesday, while many people are feared trapped in rubble following cloudbursts and landslides, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami told reporters in Dehradun.

This takes the toll in rain-related incidents across Uttarakhand to 16, with five deaths reported on Monday, he said.

Uttarakhand's Nainital lake overflows onto streets, water enters houses after heavy rains

Idamalayar, Pampa dams in Kerala opened

The sluice gates of Idamalayar and Pampa reservoirs were opened early on Tuesday in the wake of increase in the water level and more rains forecast in the coming days in Kerala.

The development comes a day after the state government opened the shutters of Kakki and Sholayar dams to release surplus water.

The Ernakulam district administration confirmed the opening of shutters 2 and 3 of Idamalayar dam by 50 centimetres each. Opening of shutters 3 and 4 of the Pampa dam by 45 centimetres each was confirmed by the Pathanamthitta district administration.

The state government on Monday had announced that Idukki dam, built across the Periyar river, Idamalayar in Ernakulam and Pampa dam, in Pathanamthitta, were going to be opened on Tuesday.

Even though rains subsided in several parts of Kerala on Monday, after receiving heavy downpour last week, the decision to open shutters of these dams was taken as water levels there had reached close to the danger marks and more rains were expected from Wednesday.

In view of the prevailing situation and expected worsening of weather conditions, the government had on Monday also cancelled pilgrimage to the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala for the Thula masam poojas.

It had also advised people living in low lying areas and close to the rivers, whose dams have been opened or scheduled to be opened, to be vigilant and move to the relief camps set up across the state in the wake of the heavy rains which has claimed 38 lives so far.

According to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), the number of rain-related deaths in Kerala from October 12 to October 18 is 38. During the same period, at least 90 houses have been destroyed in the rains while 702 houses have been partially damaged, SDMA has said.

PM Narendra Modi spoke to Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami and Minister from Uttarakhand Ajay Bhatt & took stock of the situation arising due to heavy rains.

Rains bring down temp in Delhi

The mercury in Delhi settled at 23.9 degrees Celsius, nine notches below the season's average, on Monday, following overnight rains.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 20.1 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season's average.

Delhi recorded 87.9 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am on Sunday and 8.30 am on Monday. The city recorded 0.4 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm on Monday.

The rains caused waterlogging at several places in the city.

Fresh low-pressure area formed, Bengal likely to receive torrential rain

The Met department on Monday forecast torrential rain owing to the formation of a fresh low-pressure area over West Bengal and adjoining north Odisha.

South Bengal is already experiencing heavy downpour since Sunday night as a result of a similar weather system formed over north Telangana. The Met department warned of a rise in the water level of rivers, waterlogging in low-lying areas, and landslides in the hill districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong.

Standing crops, with paddy almost ready for harvesting in several districts of the rice-growing state, may also suffer damage, it said.

Heavy rains lash several parts of India, 5 killed in Uttarakhand; red alert for 10 dams in Kerala

Heavy rains on Monday lashed several parts of north India, including Uttarakhand, where five people were killed in rain-related incidents, while a red alert for 10 dams was issued in Kerala due to incessant downpour in the southern state.

In Delhi, the month of October this year has been the wettest since 1960, when the city had recorded 93.4 mm of rainfall, according to data shared by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Heavy rainfall also lashed several parts of Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.

Due to heavy downpour, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan postponed his campaign tour to Khandwa for the upcoming Lok Sabha bypoll there, while in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's rally had to be cancelled in Budhana town as the venue was submerged in rainwater.

Authorities in Uttarakhand advised Chardham pilgrims, who arrived in Haridwar and Rishikesh by Sunday, not to proceed to the Himalayan temples till the weather improves.

Heavy rains trigger flash floods in Himachal; link road blocked in Kinnaur

A link road was blocked in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district due to flash floods triggered by heavy rains on Monday, a disaster management official said.

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