New Delhi: The continuous spell of heavy rainfall triggered landslides and damaged houses in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh and other parts of North India, claiming as many as 18 lives.
Several rivers were also flowing close to the danger mark.
Seven persons were killed in Uttar Pradesh and three died in Kashmir whereas one person was killed in rain caused incident in Uttarakhand.
In UP's Sitapur district, three persons, including a minor, were killed in two separate incidents of wall collapse. Two persons were killed in Badaun and one died in Bareilly in separate incidents of house collapse. An infant was killed in Ghaziabad when the boundary wall of an under-construction cluster of flats collapsed due to heavy rains, police said.
In Uttarakhand capital Dehradun, a construction worker died and three others were injured after a restaurant collapsed due to rains.
In Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam district, two persons died after being hit by a landslide and a lineman employed with the Power department was feared dead after being washed away in an overflowing stream in Ramban.
More deaths were reported from several parts of the north Indian states.
The pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas was yesterday suspended from both the routes due to inclement weather which also led to the closure of the vital Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
"The yatra has been suspended from both Baltal and Pahalgam routes due to rains which made the track slippery," police said.
The national capital seemingly came to a standstill as rains continued unabated for the fourth day running yesterday. Waterlogging was witnessed in several parts of Delhi, submerging many low-lying areas and leading to traffic snarls.
Several busy areas including ITO, Vikas Marg, South Extension, Khanpur, Mahipalpur, Hari Nagar, IIT crossing, Nehru Place, Yusuf Sarai Market and Munirka witnessed traffic jams.
Safdarjung observatory received 68.6 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours till 8.30 AM while areas under Lodhi road, Ayanagar, Ridge and Palam recorded 78.2 mm, 77.4 mm, 76.2 mm and 98.4 mm rain.
Till Saturday, Delhi received 147.8 mm rainfall, the highest this season. In some low-lying areas, rainwater flooded the basements of flats and residents had a harrowing time.
According to the Met department, this current spell of rain would continue till July 18, although it is expected to weaken during the next 48 hours.
