Heavy rainfall continued to wreak havoc across northern India on Friday, with flood-related incidents claiming lives, triggering landslides and disrupting transport in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
Four boys swept away in Uttar Pradesh
Four boys were swept away in the strong currents of the Malan River in two separate incidents reported around 4 pm in Bijnor district, Uttar Pradesh. Rescue operations are underway to trace the missing boys.
In Saharanpur, heavy rainfall washed away soil from a cemetery, exposing several buried bodies after graves were damaged.
In Noida, a man died after falling into a drain filled with rainwater amid waterlogging caused by the downpour.
Landslides disrupt life in Uttarakhand
In Uttarakhand, landslides and heavy rain forced the closure of 118 roads across the state in the past 24 hours.
A teenager drowned in a river in Haridwar district, while two people were injured after trees uprooted by strong winds fell on them in Nainital.
Around 100 metres of the Yamunotri National Highway was washed away, while falling rocks disrupted traffic on the Gangotri Highway. Several vehicles were stranded on the Haridwar-Rishikesh route due to road blockages.
Over 320 roads closed in Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh also witnessed widespread disruption as landslides shut more than 320 roads across the state.
More than 200 electricity transformers were affected, disrupting power supply in several areas.
In Solan district, large boulders rolled down a hillside onto a moving car, injuring four people, including a child.
Monsoon covers entire country ahead of schedule
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the southwest monsoon has now covered the entire country, completing its advance in 36 days, two days earlier than the normal 38-day timeline.
Satellite images released by the IMD showed active monsoon conditions over central and eastern India, with dense cloud cover over Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and the northeastern states.
In contrast, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and parts of western India witnessed relatively weaker monsoon activity.
The weather department has forecast that the monsoon is likely to weaken after the next two days, although heavy rainfall is expected to continue in several parts of the country in the immediate future.
