Unrelenting rains have affected daily lives in several states across northern India.
The country’s weather agency has issued a “red alert” for the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, India-administered Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha and parts of Punjab.
Educational institutions have been ordered shut in many areas. Private offices are being advised to ask their employees to work from home.
Which areas have been affected by rains in India?
Punjab has declared all of its 23 districts flood-hit.
The state’s administration said on Tuesday that 30 people have died and some 350,000 people have been affected in what it deemed as one of the most widespread floods the region has seen in decades.
In the capital, New Delhi, the Yamuna River was flowing above the danger mark. Over 10,000 people were evacuated on Tuesday night from low-lying areas around the river.
Meanwhile, waterlogging in Gurugram — the wealthy satellite city to the capital — brought routine life to a standstill.
On Monday, people in the city were forced to wade through knee-deep water to reach their destinations amid hours-long traffic snarls.
The situation sparked a massive social media outburst over poor infrastructure.
Weather forecasts say that India-administered Jammu and Kashmir could see more rainfall in the next 24 hours.
Dozens of people have been killed in flash floods and landslides in the Himalayan region over the last few days.
The region’s chief minister, Omar Abdullah, directed the administration to intensify the ground response and carry out timely evacuations in critical zones, his office said in a statement on Wednesday.
The threat of landslides is also looming in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh, where over 1,000 roads are closed.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
