Heavy rain lashes northern India, Yamuna river breaches danger mark in Delhi

Widespread flooding has hit several parts of northern India, officials said, with more thunderstorms forecast for Wednesday as local media reported that 10,000 people were evacuated from the river banks in capital Delhi.

The monsoon season in India has been particularly intense this year, killing at least 130 people in August alone in north India, wiping out villages and destroying infrastructure.

The latest round of flooding has hit northern Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab, where the Chenab and Tawi rivers have risen above the danger mark at several spots.

The swollen rivers have triggered landslides and damaged many roads, disconnecting parts of the mountainous regions of Jammu and Himachal from the rest of India.

A woman and her daughter were killed after rains brought down a wall in their house in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, a regional official said.

The India Meteorological Department warned of heavy to very heavy rain in the region on Wednesday, with more downpours expected in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

The Central Water Commission said the swollen Yamuna had breached its danger mark on Tuesday in Delhi.

Local media reported that nearly 10,000 people had been evacuated to relief camps set up by the government along the main highways as a precautionary measure for those living in low-lying areas.

Residents living along the Yamuna in Delhi were evacuated in 2023 as well after floodwaters entered their homes and the river hit its highest level in 45 years.

Many tourist spots in Himachal Pradesh have been hit by landslides in recent weeks, as raging rivers damaged infrastructure.

Three people were killed in Mandi district in the latest landslide, state Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Wednesday, and two more were feared trapped under the debris.

Educational institutions were ordered shut, authorities said, asking people to remain indoors due to flood warnings.

In neighbouring Punjab, the government said 30 people have been killed and nearly 20,000 evacuated since August 1.

Water gushing through the plains in India's breadbasket Punjab state has destroyed 150,000 hectares of crops, the government said on Tuesday.

Continuous rain prompted authorities to release water from dams, which has caused flooding in plains in India and Pakistan in recent days.