Yamuna swells above 'danger' mark, govt sounds flood alert

New Delhi: As rains continued to make up for late arrival to the Capital, the water level in the Yamuna breached the danger mark to settle at 205.33 metres, with the administration in Delhi sounding a flood alert and expediting efforts to evacuate people living on the banks of the fast-swelling river.

The water level was recorded at 205.34 metres at the Old Railway Bridge at 11 am. It was 205.22 metres at 8:30 am, 205.10 metres at 6 am and 205.17 at 7 am, an official said, adding it is likely to rise further given the heavy rains in the upper catchment areas of the river.

All the departments concerned have been alerted. The irrigation and flood control department has deployed 13 boats in different areas and put 21 others on standby, the official from the irrigation and flood control department said.

With Haryana discharging more water into the river from the Hathnikund Barrage, the Delhi Police and the East Delhi district administration have started evacuating people living on the floodplains of the Yamuna in the capital.

A flood alert is declared when the Yamuna crosses the "warning mark" of 204.50 metres. The situation is being monitored round-the-clock, a district administration official said. According to the Delhi flood control room, the discharge rate at the Hathnikund Barrage peaked to 1.60 lakh cusecs on Tuesday afternoon, the highest this year so far.

The river is in spate because of rains in Delhi and the upper catchment areas, a MeT department official said, adding it may swell further as more rains are predicted in northwest India.

The weather department has also issued an "orange alert" for moderate rains in Delhi-NCR for the third day on the trot on Friday as heavy rains in the city in the evening again hit traffic, waterlogged many roads and thousands of commuters were stuck in crawling traffic.

Traffic snarls were reported in many areas, and several trees had fallen due to the winds in South Delhi. Waterlogging was reported in areas around Malviya Nagar, Lodhi Road and Kasturba Nagar along with large areas of North Delhi and outer Delhi. Dwarka also reported isolated instances of waterlogging.

The India Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert, predicting moderate rain on Saturday as well and warning of possible waterlogging in low-lying areas of the national capital and major traffic

disruptions.

The department has issued a yellow alert for Sunday, and orange alert also for Monday.

The national capital recorded 42.8 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm on Friday, the weather department said. Between 8.30 am on Friday and 8.30 pm on Thursday, Delhi recorded 72 mm of rainfall, it said.

Humidity was recorded between 98 per cent and 79 per cent, the weather department said.

The maximum temperature was recorded at 32 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season's average, while the minimum settled at 24.5 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal.

The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to settle around 32 and 25 degrees Celsius, respectively.