New Delhi: Relentless overnight rains lashed Delhi on Thursday, leaving large parts of the national capital submerged, uprooting trees, paralysing traffic and triggering a fatal building collapse as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert warning of more downpours, thunderstorms and lightning through the day.
Videos and images from across the city showed cars inching through waterlogged roads, commuters wading through knee-deep water, uprooted trees blocking key stretches and long traffic jams stretching across major roads.
Meanwhile, in UP's Ghaziabad, a car and a scooter fell into a ditch after the road caved in near Atal Chowk in Vasundhara following heavy rainfall.
The worst affected was Rohini, where a four-storey building under construction collapsed amid the heavy rain, killing three people.
According to the IMD, Delhi's base weather station at Safdarjung recorded 72.6 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am. Lodhi Road received 80.2 mm, Ridge 77.8 mm, Palam 63 mm and Ayanagar 57.4 mm during the same period.
Waterlogging across the city
Waterlogging was reported from several parts of the city, including Sadar Bazar, Greater Kailash, Badarpur, Nasirpur, Teliwara, Mahavir Bazar, Swarup Nagar, Kushak Road, Munirka, Dwarka, Vikas Marg, East Delhi and the New Delhi Railway Station area.
The incessant rains also brought down trees across parts of the capital, adding to the disruption.
Air quality remains satisfactory
Despite the intense rainfall, Delhi's air quality remained in the "satisfactory" category, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 61 on Thursday morning.
