Heavy downpour leaves Delhi submerged as traffic crawls, infrastructure falters
New Delhi: Heavy rain battered Delhi on Friday, turning major roads into waterlogged corridors and throwing daily life completely off balance. Water levels rose quickly across several parts of the national capital, bringing traffic to a crawl during peak morning hours and leaving thousands of commuters stranded for hours.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) noted that while moderate to heavy showers dominated Friday, the rain intensity is expected to ease down over the weekend. Safdarjung, Delhi’s primary weather station, recorded 59.2 mm of rainfall till 8:30 am on Friday. Lodhi Road recorded 60.4 mm, Ridge logged 57 mm, and Ayanagar and Palam recorded 26.2 mm and 16.9 mm respectively. Adjacent areas in the National Capital Region, including Noida and Gurugram, also reported widespread waterlogging.
South Delhi’s Mehrauli-Badarpur (MB) Road was among the worst-hit areas in the city. Water accumulated up to three to four feet deep near Vayusena Bad (Air Force Station), turning the stretch into a virtual river. The deep water caused numerous two-wheelers and auto-rickshaws to break down midway, creating traffic jams that stretched for several kilometres toward Khanpur and Okhla Mor. Military personnel were seen using heavy trucks to help people cross the flooded section near the station. Traffic was similarly disrupted across key arterial routes, including ITO, Patel Road, Peeragarhi, Shaheen Bagh, and the Delhi-Jaipur Highway.
Emergency calls, house collapses, and rescue efforts
Beyond traffic disruptions, the downpour caused structural damages across the city. The Delhi Fire Service reported receiving calls regarding nine house collapse incidents since late Thursday night. Additionally, 16 distress calls were registered for fallen trees. In one major rescue operation, fire personnel safely evacuated three women who were trapped inside their home after a large tree collapsed onto the structure.
Weather outlook for the coming days
According to IMD scientist Ankit, the heavy spells are expected to taper off starting Saturday. “Rainfall activity over Delhi-NCR is expected to weaken from Saturday, with August 8 and 9 likely to witness only light rain before the intensity tapers further,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the IMD has issued a yellow alert for isolated parts of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, along with an orange alert for eastern Rajasthan. A low-pressure area forming over eastern India is expected to bring heavy rainfall to Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal over the next 24 hours.