Weather Updates: Flood-like Situation in Arunachal, Tamil Nadu, IMD Asks People to Avoid 'Cyclone' Rumours

Weather Updates: Eleven people were killed in rain-related incidents in Uttar Pradesh where over 900 villages in 17 districts were affected by floods following heavy rainfall, officials said on Monday. According to a report by the relief commissioner’s office, the lives of around 8.43 lakh people have been impacted due to the floods. In Jhansi, seven people were killed in lightning strikes on Monday afternoon, officials said.

In other parts of the country too, rains wreaked havoc. News18 gives you latest weather updates:

☁  With copious rains being experienced in catchment areas of Karnataka, the inflow into Stanley reservoir in Mettur in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district has increased resulting in water level touching 120 feet, the second time in the last 25 days, officials said on Wednesday.

The administration sounded a flood alert to the people living in the low lying areas in the delta districts and the banks of Cauvery river. The officials advised people to move to safer places, as the discharge of surplus water from 16 sluice gates increased to 28,000 cusecs, as against the inflow of 33,400 cusecs on Tuesday night. This is for the 43rd time in the last 85 years the dam is reaching its full capacity level and water availability stands at 93.47 TMC, officials said.

☁ The flood situation in Assam remained serious on Wednesday as incessant rains lashed several districts affecting nearly 40,000 people, officials said. Many affected people have taken shelter in relief camps and distribution centers of the affected districts, they said.

In the last 24 hours floods due the to heavy rains in the state since Monday were reported from four districts comprising at least eight revenue circles of nearly 50 villages, the officials said. While Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh districts have been affected by the rain, flash floods in Jatinga river affected some areas in Dima Hasao.

The district administrations and State Disaster Response Force are evacuating the people from the affected areas. A Central Water Commission bulletin said Brahmaputra river is flowing above the danger mark at Neamatighat in Jorhat.

The Regional Meteorological Centre here said there will be light to moderate rainfall at most places of Assam and Meghalaya with “isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall” during the day. Thunderstorms and lightning will take place at isolated places. From Thursday to Saturday light to moderate rainfall is likely at many places of the state, the weatherman said.

☁ The Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, Wednesday, said the IMD has not issued any kind of forecast for cyclone so far and advised people of Odisha to stay away from rumours regarding a possible cyclonic storm in the coastal state. The India Meteorological Department has not made any forecast on the cyclone or even given any indication in this regard. Please keep away from the rumour, the IMD’s regional centre here tweeted. It is not scientific to make a forecast on any weather condition seven days before its occurrence, the weather agency said. We are working 24 hours a day to provide accurate weather-related information. So please stay away from rumours, it said.

IMD Director General Dr Mrutunjay Mohapatra said that there is no forecast for a cyclone in the next seven days and no threat for Odisha. A cyclonic circulation has formed over the north Andaman Sea yesterday, which is gradually weakening. There is a likelihood of the formation of another similar system around October 17-18. “Today’s forecast indicates a concentration of the system into low pressure. According to our analysis, there are no chances of intensification of the system into a cyclone, he told Odia news channels. There is no possible threat to Odisha, Dr. Mohapatra told the news channel adding that IMD is known for its pinpoint’ accuracy in cyclone prediction.

☁ Incessant rains for the past week disrupted life in Sikkim as landslides affected supply of piped water in the capital town and its neighbourhood, and damaged private property and roads which left 200 tourists stranded in various places of North Sikkim district, officials said on Wednesday. The rains are set to continue and the met department has issued a red alert in the Himalayan state and warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall due to an upper air trough stretching from east Uttar Pradesh to Arunachal Pradesh across Bihar, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Assam. There were reports of heavy rains in neighbouring north Bengal and Bhutan too. Officials here said the water supply in Greater Gangtok has been hit by a major landslide at Ratey chu which damaged the pipe lines, officials said.

☁ A thick layer of fog shrouded Delhi on Wednesday morning, lowering visibility to 350 metres in some parts of the capital. Senior scientist at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) R K Jenamani said this was the capital’s first fog of the season. Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 20.2 degrees Celsius, a notch below the normal. The maximum temperature is likely to settle at around 31 degrees Celsius. Partly cloudy weather is predicted during the day. An IMD official had earlier said it was heavy mist due to prolonged spell of rain, which increased moisture content in the air. According to the official, visibility at the Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi’s primary weather station, had dropped to 600 metres and to 350 metres at the Palam weather station at 8.30 am.

☁ A high alert was issued for the low-lying areas of East Siang district in Arunachal Pradesh with the Siang river in spate, following incessant rains over the last few days. East Siang Deputy Commissioner (DC) Tayi Taggu, who took stock of the situation on Tuesday, appealed to the people living in these areas to refrain from venturing into the river. He, however, asked people not to panic as the water resources and disaster management departments are keeping a close watch on the situation. “Any impending danger would be informed to the people in advance,” he said. Taggu directed officials to not leave the district headquarters and stay alert to deal with the emerging situation. District Disaster Management Officer Tsangpa Tashi said Pasighat recorded 482 mm of rainfall on Monday and 480 mm on Tuesday, the highest in the last 25 years. “The water level in the Siang is rising but it is flowing below the danger mark,” he said. SDRF teams are monitoring the situation closely and have visited all vulnerable areas in Pasighat township, he added. Pasighat Water Resources Department Executive Engineer Gonong Pertin said he is in constant touch with the Central Water Commission (CWC).

☁ Chennai police and the city’s fire department conducted a mock drill and awareness camp on rescuing people during floods, ANI reported.

☁ Meanwhile, scary visuals of a road washed away in the Koppal district of Karnataka emerged.

☁ And in UP, farmers complained of their crops being destroyed due to the heavy rains.

☁ Mercury rose in the national capital on Tuesday with the maximum temperature settling at 28.9 degrees Celsius, even as the weather office forecast cloudy sky with light rain for today. The city recorded a relative humidity of 86 per cent at 5:30 PM. The minimum temperature in Delhi on Tuesday had settled at 20.8 degrees Celsius, a notch above the normal. The city recorded a relative humidity of 100 per cent at 8:30 AM, according to data shared by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The minimum temperature on Monday was recorded at 19.2 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season’s average. Rains had brought the mercury down in Delhi on Monday, with the maximum temperature settling at 23.6 degrees Celsius, 10 notches below the normal.

☁ Delhi has recorded 128.2 mm rainfall so far this month, the highest for October since 1956, the India Meteorological Department said. According to the IMD, the city had recorded 236.2 mm rainfall in October 1956. Delhi’s all-time record rainfall for the month is 238.2 mm, which was reported in 1954. The 128.2 mm rainfall received till 8.30 am on Tuesday is also the fourth highest rainfall ever recorded in the city in October. This month last year, the national capital had received 122.5 mm rainfall. The city did not receive any rain in October 2020, 2018 and 2017, and logged 47.3 mm rainfall in October 2019.

☁ The weather department issued a red warning of torrential rain for Sikkim and an orange warning of very heavy rain in Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Darjeeling in north Bengal till Wednesday, it said. Heavy rain may continue in these places thereafter till Thursday, it said. Heavy downpour has been reported from sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim for the last two days, leading to landslides and affecting normal life. Alipurduar recorded the highest rainfall in the past 24 hours till 8.30 am on Tuesday at 170 mm, while Barobisha received 140 mm of rain, it said. Mangan in Sikkim received 100 mm of rain, while Singhik and Sankalan received 90 mm, the weather office said.

With PTI inputs

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