Heavy rain brings Delhi to standstill, IMD issues red alert

Heavy rain brought large parts of the national capital to a standstill on Friday, submerging arterial roads under up to four feet of water, leaving vehicles stranded, choking traffic and inundating residential colonies as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert.

From the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road in south Delhi to Mahipalpur, Minto Road, ITO, Shakarpur and Chhatarpur, roads disappeared beneath rainwater as commuters remained trapped in traffic for hours, motorists abandoned flooded stretches and office-goers struggled to book cabs. Those who were able to leave for their home were stuck on the road as traffic congestion was reported from several important routes across Delhi, including Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Wazirabad Road, Patel Road, Rohtak Road, Shankar Road, Laxmi Nagar, the Kirti Nagar stretch, the Delhi-Jaipur Highway, Peeragarhi, and Shaheen Bagh.

Delhi recorded its wettest first week of August since 2011, receiving 127 mm of rainfall during the first seven days of the month as relentless rain lashed the national capital through Friday. In several places in Delhi, the rainfall has crossed 100 mm. Pushp Vihar recorded 111.5 mm, Chhatarpur 104.5 mm and Ayanagar 87.4 mm rainfall till 5.30 pm. The city on Friday received its highest rainfall during the first week of August in 15 years, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Some of the worst flooding was reported on the Mehrauli-Badarpur (MB) Road near Vayusena Bad (Air Force Station), where water accumulated up to three to four feet deep, reducing one of south Delhi’s busiest corridors into what residents described as a river. Traffic crawled for kilometres between Khanpur and Okhla Mor, while adjoining stretches at Sangam Vihar, Deoli and Ambedkar Nagar also remained inundated. The downpour triggered a flood of civic complaints across the capital. Authorities received at least 67 rain-related complaints, including incidents of waterlogging, fallen trees and power outages. Delhi Fire Services (DFS) has received more than two dozen calls related to house collapses, portions of buildings giving way and fallen trees since midnight. However, no one was injured in these incidents.

According to the weather office, Pushp Vihar recorded the highest rainfall at 111.5 mm, followed by Chhatarpur (104.5 mm), Ayanagar (87.4 mm), Palam (73.5 mm), Janakpuri (68 mm), Jharoda Kalan (67 mm), Pusa (59.5 mm), Safdarjung (57.3 mm), Narayana (53 mm), Ridge (49.6 mm), Lodi Road (49.3 mm), Mayur Vihar (36 mm), Najafgarh (24 mm) and Jafarpur (13.5 mm) between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm. Delhi received 127 mm of rainfall during the first week of August, making it the wettest first week of the month since 2011. Rainfall was lighter across the Ghaziabad and Noida stations, at 13.5 mm and 11.5 mm, respectively.

Continuous rainfall led to severe waterlogging in several neighbourhoods, including areas around the Red Fort, Chhatarpur Farm, Mehram Nagar near Terminal 1 and Sainik Farms.

At Mahipalpur T-Point, waterlogging affected traffic heading towards the airport, Gurugram, Chhatarpur and Vasant Vihar, while commuters also reported long delays near the Pusa Road roundabout.

As rain continued to pour through the day, scenes from south Delhi’s Fatehpur Beri captured the scale of the disruption. In Valmiki Basti, while some residents waded through waist-deep water, the others carried schoolchildren across flooded lanes on a large blue plastic sheet used as a makeshift raft. 

Severe waterlogging was also reported at the Delhi Police’s Narcotics office in south Delhi. In east Delhi’s Shakarpur and neighbouring Mandawali, e-rickshaw drivers said submerged potholes, overflowing drains and waterlogged roads had led to multiple accidents and sharply affected their earnings.

According to the MCD’s Central Control Room, tree-fall incidents were reported from the Keshavpuram, South, Central, West and Civil Lines zones. The NDMC received 34 rain-related complaints, including 15 cases of waterlogging, five tree-fall incidents and 14 power outages, while the PWD logged 22 complaints of waterlogging.

Waterlogging complaints in the NDMC area were reported from Lodhi Road, Sunehari Bagh Road, RK Ashram Marg, Minto Road Bridge, Rajiv Chowk Metro, Safdarjung Flyover, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Moti Bagh, Talkatora Garden, Race Course Road and Sarojini Nagar. Tree-fall incidents were reported from Lady Hardinge Medical College, Yashwant Place in Chanakyapuri, RML Hospital and Jam Nagar House.

The heavy rain also triggered political sparring, with the Delhi Congress blaming the BJP-led Centre, the Delhi government and the MCD for the widespread flooding. Senior Congress leader and former MLA Mukesh Sharma alleged that desilting of drains existed only on paper and said the “triple-engine government” had failed to prevent waterlogging despite repeated assurances.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in a post on X, said the BJP “never tires of taking credit” for resolving waterlogging at Minto Bridge while ignoring flooding elsewhere in the city. There was no immediate statement from the Rekha Gupta-led Delhi government on the opposition’s allegations.