Flight Disruptions, Metro Breakdown and Flood Alerts: Delhi-NCR Faces Unprecedented Rain Havoc

Heavy traffic jams brought Delhi to a halt on Monday after severe rains resulted in waterlogging across the city. Many areas were submerged in knee-length water, thus restricting the movement and making commuting difficult.

Metro services too faced disruptions as a technical fault halted operations at Rajiv Chowk. It is situated on the Noida Electronic City line, a route known to connect key office hubs to Delhi. As a result, commuters faced severe chaos while moving back to Delhi after attending their offices in Noida.

IMD Had Predicted Heavy Rains in Delhi

The disruption in road, metro, and air travel coincided with a ‘yellow’ rain alert issued for the city. Authorities also sounded a flood warning for the Yamuna floodplains after the Hathnikund barrage released 3,29,313 cusecs of water at 9 am on Monday.

Later, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), warned of an ‘orange alert’ for majority portions of Delhi. Reports say that the alert will remain in effect until 12:30am Tuesday. Meanwhile, social media was flooded with visuals of waterlogged roads of Dwarka, Vasant Vihar, and Gurugram.

Airlines such as IndiGo, Air India, Akasa Air, IndiGo, and SpiceJet also had to issue advisory to their passengers who were set to fly to and from Delhi. Reports said that around 95 flights coming into Delhi were delayed while 353 flights expected to depart from Delhi also faced similar problems. Moreover, severe rain forced many airlines to cancel their flights. Until 6:50 pm, six flights from Delhi’s IGI airport were reportedly cancelled while more than 30 were delayed.

More Rain Expected in Gurugram

The IMD issued an ‘orange alert’ for heavy to very heavy rainfall in Gurugram on Tuesday. The district administration asked offices to allow employees to work from home, while schools were directed to hold online classes.

While an orange alert was issued for Noida, Faridabad, and Gurugram, Ghaziabad faced a yellow alert. Heavy downpour lashed these areas, with many roads of these cities facing waterlogging. Reports said traffic crawled at a snail pace in some of these areas as travelers faced difficulties while commuting.

Meanwhile, the IMD has warned of more rain which are likely to be up to 15 mm per hour in entire Delhi-NCR which includes Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Faridabad.

Also Read: Knee-Deep Chaos: Heavy Rains Bring Delhi to a Standstill