Monsoon rains wreak havoc in northern India: Several dead, tens of millions affected

Floods and landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains have left several dead will tens of millions affected in northern India. While the capital New Delhi received the most rainfall in decades over the weekend, the hill state of Himachal Pradesh remains worst-affected where landslides have swept away homes and blocked hundreds of roads.

According to official data released by the Indian Meteorological Department, the monsoon rains across India this year have been nearly two per cent more than normal for this period.

Himachal Pradesh rains: Heavy destruction due to landslides

The torrential rainfall has resulted in massive loss of public and private property. Visuals on social media showed houses being swept away due to dangerously high levels of water bodies.

The crucial Kullu-Manali road, typically a spot of solitude to the seekers and wanderers from urban dwellings of the world's fifth largest economy, was blocked due to heavy rainfall and landslide.

In Thunag area of Mandi district, soul-shaking visuals from a location showed a barrage of mud and wood pouring through a rural residential area, dangerously sweeping away a house.

It couldn't be confirmed if there were any residents inside the house that was seen being swept away.

A section of National Highway 3 was washed away by the overflowing Beas river in Kullu.

For the immediate future, moderate to heavy rainfall accompanied with thunderstorms is "very likely" to continue in the districts of Bilaspur, Solan, Shimla, Sirmaur, Una, Hamirpur, Mandi and Kullu at most places and very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places. "Light to moderate rainfall is likely to occur at a few places in the rest of the districts," an IMD forecast said.

So far, 54 deaths have been recorded across Himachal Pradesh due to rain-related incidents, reports said.

Solan district received 135 mm of rain on Sunday, breaking a 50-year-old record of 105 mm of rain in a day in 1971, while Una received the highest rainfall after 1993.

North India rains: Schools closed in Delhi, alert issued in Western UP, Punjab and Haryana

In Delhi,schools will remain closed on Mondaydue to incessant rains in Delhi. Meanwhile, in the Ghaziabad suburb of the National Capital Region, July 10 and July 11 have been declared as holidays in the schools. A heavy rain alert has been issued for12 districts in Western Uttar Pradesh, namely, Sambhal, Saharanpur, Noida, Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Barelli, Muzaffarnagar, Kasganj, Aligarh, Badaun and Rampur.

The IMD has forecast light to moderate rain in most places and "heavy to very heavy" rainfall at isolated places in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh till July 10.

The monsoon constitutes nearly two-thirds of the annual rainfall in the Indian subcontinent.

The rainfall varies considerably. However, scientists say that climate change is making the monsoon stronger, and destruction due to heavy rainfall more frequent.

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