Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) were hit by heavy rain and strong winds on Monday evening, causing traffic snarls, flight diversion, uprooting trees, and massive power disruption in various parts and killing two persons.
Dozens of vehicles were damaged, the canopy at Vijay Chowk was also toppled in the rain, and the historic Jama Masjid had its finial broken.
As per reports, one person died after a balcony fell over him in Jama Masjid area while over a dozen others were injured when trees fell on them. As many as five flights had to be diverted to Jaipur, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Dehradun and 70 delayed at the Delhi airport due to a thunderstorm.
People at several locations across the city shared reports about the strong winds snapping power and internet cables, throwing parts of the Capital into chaos.
According to the Delhi Fire Service, eight calls of house collapse were received. Commuters had a difficult time as traffic snarls were reported near Kashmeri Gate, ITO, AIIMS flyover, DND flyover, Pul Prahladpur, Palam, Naraina, Shastri Park, Khajuri Chowk, Yamuna Vihar, Sabzi Mandi area. The rain also led to water-logging in several areas of the Capital.
The rainfall that began early on Monday evening was coupled with strong winds at a speed of 50-60 km per hour in Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Greater Noida, Faridabad, Nuh and Hathras. The change in weather brought much-needed respite to the residents who suffered under a sultry morning, and days of scorching heat. Some visuals posted on social media also showed cars shaking in the gusty winds.
This is the first storm of “severe” intensity in Delhi since 2018, a Met department official said. Delhi recorded 17.8 mm of rainfall till 5.30 pm. The thunderstorm led to a drastic fall in the temperature.
At the Safdarjung Observatory, the temperature fell from 40 degrees Celsius at 4:20 pm to 25 degrees Celsius at 5:40 pm. Safdarjung, Lodhi Road and Ridge logged 17.8 mm, 20 mm and 15 mm of rainfall. East and central parts of Delhi bore the maximum brunt of the storm that peppered the roads with broken tree branches.
According to Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the historic Jama Masjid had its finial broken and suffered other damage due to heavy rain and storms. “The Kalas (finial) of the main dome fell off. It needs urgent repair to prevent further damages. Some stones of the mosque structure also loosened and fell off. I will write to the Prime Minister for immediate repair of the mosque roping in the Archaeological Survey of India,” Bukhari said.
Several videos on social media showed trees were also uprooted on the Bhai Vir Singh Marg in Gole Market area near the Nepal Embassy and also near Parliament Street police station leading to obstruction in traffic. Kasturba Gandhi Marg was completely closed for vehicular movement after trees were uprooted there.
There were also visuals of electric poles falling on vehicles in the Capital’s South Extension market, while a Delhi Traffic Police booth at Vijay Chowk collapsed due to strong winds. Social media users tagged Delhi Traffic Police by sharing photos of various locations where trees had been uprooted.
The force of winds was such that several AC units at Express Building on the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg broke away and were on the verge of falling down.
A brief video showing the precariously dangling ACs at the building which houses several media firms was shared by a journalist on Twitter. Meanwhile, flight operators took to social media to inform passengers about the services being affected due to the weather.
A similar scene was witnessed at Connaught Place where a car was trapped under an uprooted tree. The car was unoccupied and was in the parking lot. Trees were also uprooted at the residence of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Parvesh Verma at Janpath Road. His car was badly damaged.
“Till 7.15 pm, a total of 101 complaints were received about uprooted trees and broken branches. Work is on to clear the areas where such incidents have been witnessed. Several areas, including Bhagwan Das road, Connaught Place, SP Marg, have already been cleared,” a senior NDMC official said.
Several trees were also uprooted inside the Jamia Millia Islamia where walls of the building were also damaged, officials said.
Meanwhile, IndiGo in its tweet said that raindrops and thunderstorms in #Delhi may impact our flight operations. “Please keep enough travel time in hand to avoid any hassle. Keep a check on your flight status https://bit.ly/2EjJGGT. For any assistance, DM us on Twitter/Facebook,” IndiGo airlines tweeted.
Vistara wrote on the microblogging site Vistara that due to bad weather in Delhi, Arrivals/Departures are likely to get impacted. “Please visit http://airvistara.com or SMS UK<Flight no.> to 9289228888 to check the updated flight status. Thank you,” it said. The airline also informed that its Flight UK944 from Mumbai to Delhi was diverted due to bad weather in the national capital and was expected to arrive in Lucknow at 5.30 pm.
Delhi had recorded a minimum temperature of 27.8 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season’s average, with the weather department predicting overcast conditions for the city on Monday. The relative humidity at 8.30 am was 63 per cent. The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 41 degrees Celsius.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a western disturbance that is affecting northwest India brought cloudy skies, strong winds, and rainfall to parts of the NCR on Sunday as well.
According to police, 294 calls of tree falling were received till 8 pm on Monday. A 50-year-old man from Delhi’s Jama Masjid area died after a balcony fell over him in the aftermath of hailstorm and rain in Delhi. A 65-year-old homeless man was rescued after a peepal tree fell on him in Angoori Bagh area of North Delhi. He was later declared brought dead at Trauma Center, a senior police official said. He was identified as Basir Baba. He stayed on the footpath opposite Angoori Bagh here, he said. Before the homeless man was rescued from near Kalkattiya gate in the area, two more passersby Devender and Neeraj were also rescued. “The two safely rescued do not have any serious injury, the official added. In another instance, three members of a family were rescued including a one-year-old child after a neem tree fell on a Creta car near Kabootar Market.
