Red alert sounded as Delhi roads 'turn into rivers'

Heavy rainfall brought New Delhi to a screeching halt on Wednesday evening, inundating large parts of the national capital, choking key stretches with unending traffic and leaving people stranded as roads turned into rivers.

The torrential downpour prompted the weather office to issue its highest 'red' warning.

The National Flash Flood Guidance Bulletin also included Delhi in its list of 'areas of concern', it said.

The weather office advised people to remain indoors, secure windows and doors, and refrain from unnecessary travel.

At least 10 flights scheduled to land at the Delhi airport were diverted -- eight to Jaipur and two to Lucknow -- due to inclement weather conditions. Airlines also warned of the possibility of more flight disruptions.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city's primary weather station Safdarjung recorded 79.2 mm of downpour between 5.30 pm and 8.30 pm; Mayur Vihar 119 mm; Delhi University 77.5 mm; Pusa 66.5 mm; and the Palam observatory 43.7 mm.

The heavy downpour also led to a house collapse in north Delhi's Sabji Mandi area. While details of it were still awaited, the Delhi Fire Services said the house was located close to the Ghanta Ghar near Robin Cinema.

Five fire tenders are at the spot, the department added.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena said he has asked officers to remain on alert.

'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 in the post on 'X'.

Widespread waterlogging prompted the traffic police to issue an advisory, asking commuters to avoid certain roads.

They said vehicular movement was hit on the carriageway from Moolchand towards Chirag Delhi, both carriageways on Anuvrat Marg, Outer Ring Road, Syama Prasad Mukherjee Marg and Mahatma Gandhi Marg among other key roads.

The traffic police also suggested alternative routes and highlighted diversions imposed for commuters to consider given the waterlogging.

Visuals showed waterlogged streets at Connaught Place and in the Kamla Nagar area near Delhi University's North Campus, besides vehicles wading through waterlogged roads in south Delhi's Qutub Minar area.

Multiple areas, including in Lutyens' Delhi, Kashmere Gate, Karol Bagh and Pragati Maidan, were marooned following the heavy downpour. Old Rajinder Nagar, where students were protesting the death of three UPSC aspirants due to flooding in a coaching institute basement, was under knee-deep water.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi said it received four complaints about waterlogging and three calls about fallen trees from different parts of Delhi.

The national capital recorded a maximum temperature of 37.8 degrees Celsius during the day.

The IMD has predicted a wet spell in the city till August 5.