Following Delhi’s highest single-day rainfall in 88 years, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert, forecasting continued heavy rain for Saturday. The toll from rain-related incidents rose to eight with the recovery of three bodies from a wall collapse in Vasant Vihar. Civic agencies and police received over 300 complaints of waterlogging across Delhi on Friday.
Social media has been flooded with visuals of extensive waterlogging in the city, including a striking video of Kashmere Gate Metro station submerged in rainwater. The footage depicts water cascading into the station from the stairwell, turning it into a flooded scene with ankle-deep water.
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Delhi faced an unprecedented deluge, potentially marking its highest June rainfall since 1936. Public Works Department Minister Atishi disclosed that the capital received 228 mm of rainfall in 24 hours. In response, Lieutenant Governor V. K. Saxena ordered the immediate establishment of a 24×7 emergency control room and mandated desilting operations to be completed within a week.
Early Friday morning, tragedy struck at Delhi’s Terminal 1 airport as a canopy collapse led to the death of a taxi driver and injuries to eight others, prompting a brief halt to flight departures. Delhi Police has initiated a case under sections related to negligence leading to death in connection with the incident.