A video going viral on social media on Saturday showed cars being swept away in a flash flood in the Ganga River in Haridwar. The incident occurred following heavy rainfall in the region, marking the onset of the monsoon season in the Himalayan states.
Watch the video here:
“Due to heavy rains in Haridwar, the water level of Ganga has increased considerably. Some people had parked their vehicles near the dry river in Kharkhari instead of parking places, which started flowing into the Ganga River due to heavy rains. There has been no loss of life in the incident. Please park your vehicles in the designated parking places only,” said Uttarakhand police soon after videos of floating cars went viral on social media.
The monsoon's arrival has brought not only rain but severe challenges. On Saturday afternoon, Haridwar experienced a deluge that led to significant waterlogging on the roads and inundated homes, causing hardship for residents.
The relentless rain created chaos in several cities across Uttarakhand, including Dehradun, Haridwar, Haldwani, and Kotdwar.
In North Haridwar, the downpour after 3 pm resulted in flooded streets and extensive property damage. The sudden surge of rainwater led to parked cars being swept into the Ganga River from the dry riverbed near the Kharkhari crematorium. The sight of cars floating away attracted a large crowd, capturing the dramatic scene on camera.
In Haldwani, the situation was similarly dire. The first monsoon rains caused the drain in the Shani Bazar area to overflow, flooding three colonies with dirty water. The blockage in the drain, caused by accumulated dirt and debris, exacerbated the problem. Although the water receded after the rain stopped, it left behind a mess on the roads.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in northwest and northeast India over the next four to five days.
A low-pressure area is currently situated over the northwest Bay of Bengal, adjoining the north Odisha-Gangetic West Bengal coasts, the weather office said.
Cyclonic circulations have formed over northeast Rajasthan, east Uttar Pradesh bordering Bihar, and northwest Uttar Pradesh at lower tropospheric levels, it added.
An east-west trough extends from northwest Uttar Pradesh to the low-pressure area.
Due to these weather systems, isolated heavy rainfall is expected in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan from June 29 to July 3, the IMD said.
Chhattisgarh, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Odisha will likely receive heavy rainfall on June 29-30, and Bihar from June 30 to July 2.
The IMD has also predicted very heavy rainfall in isolated areas in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, east Rajasthan, and west Madhya Pradesh during this period.
In the northeast, a cyclonic circulation over northeast Assam will bring light to moderate rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning, and isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall to Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura over the next five days.
Isolated extremely heavy rainfall is expected in Arunachal Pradesh on June 29-30 and in Assam and Meghalaya on June 29.
The Met office also predicted isolated heavy rainfall for Saurashtra, Kutch, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and coastal and south interior Karnataka from June 29 to July 1.
Gujarat, Goa, and central Maharashtra are expected to receive heavy rainfall from June 29 to July 3, with isolated very heavy rainfall in Konkan, Goa, and central Maharashtra from June 30 to July 3.
The IMD also said that the southwest monsoon has further advanced into the remaining parts of east Uttar Pradesh and some areas of west Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.
Conditions are favourable for the monsoon to advance into more parts of west Rajasthan, Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, and the remaining areas of west Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu over the next two to three days, it added.
