Heavy rain lashes Delhi resulting in waterlogging, traffic disruptions

New Delhi: Heavy rain lashed Delhi national capital region on Wednesday evening causing waterlogging in almost the entire central Delhi disrupting traffic and diversion of several Delhi bound flights.

East Delhi received over 119 mm rainfall in three hours – the maximum in Delhi NCR – followed by Noida (118 mm) central Delhi (79 mm) and north Delhi (77 mm).

“Light to moderate rainfall at most places with isolated heavy rainfall has occurred over Delhi during 0830-2030 hours today. Extremely Intense Spell - defined by 5-10 cm of rain in an hour - has also occurred over Delhi,” said an official from India Meteorological Department.

“The sky opened up as clouds converged over Delhi from all the four sectors, triggering a widespread light or moderate rainfall with isolated intense to very intense spells,” he added.

Because of the heavy waterlogging, Delhi Traffic Police stopped vehicle movement in several underpasses in central and south Delhi while advising the people to avoid other water logged areas. The worst affected spots include traffic hotspots like ITO, Connaught Place, Karol Bagh, Okhla, Palam and Sarita Vihar.

Delhi Lt Governor, in a social media post said he cautioned officers to remain alert in light of the heavy downpour. "Apart from ensuring minimum inconvenience to people in general, they are advised to specifically address issues at sites prone to waterlogging, including coaching centres," he said.

The evening downpour not only brings back the memory of last week’s unfortunate downing of three students inside the basement of a coaching centre at old Rajinder Nagar in central Delhi, but also how the Lutyens Delhi was submerged last month in an intense spell – the highest in 88 years – that also triggered the collapse of a roof in the terminal building in Delhi airport.