Delhi evacuates some residents as river swells to record

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Delhi evacuates some residents as river swells to record

10:10 CAT | 13 Jul 2023

People move their belongings to safety at a bridge over the flooded Yamuna River after heavy monsoon rains in New Delhi on July 12, 2023. Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP

Torrential rain in northern India has pushed water levels to an all-time high in the Yamuna, a major river that cuts through the capital Delhi, leading to evacuations in some areas.

The water level in the Yamuna has climbed to 208.46 meters, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a tweet on Thursday. The previous record was 207.49 meters reached in 1978, he said in a previous post.

More than 16,500 people have been evacuated after waters inundated low-lying areas, with the majority taking refuge in tents erected by the local government and under flyovers, the Times of India reported.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority has called for a special meeting on Thursday to review the situation around the flooding in Delhi. Some areas were inundated on Sunday after the capital experienced its wettest day in four decades, leaving millions wading through knee-deep water.

Kejriwal had asked India’s Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah to ensure a controlled release of water from a dam in Haryana state to prevent flooding in Delhi, according to a previous tweet. Railway and traffic movement on the Old Yamuna Bridge, a crucial rail link, has been stopped as a precautionary measure, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported earlier.

Source: Bloomberg