At least 22 people killed in floods and landslides in northern India

Delhi broke a 40 year old record after 153mm of rainfall on Sunday

Floods caused by heavy monsoon rains. Gurgaon, India. July 9, 2023. AFP

At least 22 people were killed in landslides and drownings in India as heavy rains lashed several parts of the country over the weekend.

India has been witnessing heavy rainfall since the monsoon season hit the country this month, bringing much-needed rain but a host of dangers.

A woman and her six-year-old daughter were killed in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar on Sunday after their house collapsed after heavy rain.

At least five people, including three from one family, were also killed in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, in a similar incident.

The National Disaster Response Force rescued six people stranded in a late-night operation on Sunday after water levels rose in the Beas River near Nagwan village in the Mandi district.

Two were killed after a landslide hit a passenger bus in the Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir.

Two Army soldiers died in flash floods in the Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir.

In Delhi, a 58-year-old woman was killed after her ceiling collapsed.

On Sunday, Delhi broke a 40-year record after 153mm of rainfall – the highest in a single day in July since 1982, the India Meteorological Department said.

The diplomatic area of Chanakyapuri and its neighbouring areas were inundated. Several parts of the city remained waterlogged.

Footage shared on social media showed a bridge collapsing in the Udhampur district.

The ancient Panchvaktra Temple in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi was submerged due to the overflowing Beas River. Several cars and a 50-year-old iron bridge were washed away in the river.

Three children were rescued after a house collapsed in the Moti Nagar area.

In neighbouring Ghaziabad, disaster response force officials rescued at least nine people trapped in flood waters after torrential rain in Loni.

Authorities have shut schools across Delhi and in the nearby cities of Noida, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Faridabad.

The city administration in neighbouring Gurgaon advised its staff to work from home on Monday and appealed to the residents not to leave the house except for essential needs.

Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud said the Supreme Court will not pass any adverse orders on Monday following the heavy rainfall.