Uttar Pradesh recorded 97.6 mm rainfall in the 48 hours from September 25 morning to September 27 morning, against a cumulative average of 4.5 mm, as heavy rain and storms claimed 56 lives and injured 46 people across the state in that time period, officials said.
The casualty figures are expected to rise as data compilation is still under way, Yashod added. More than 1,020 houses were damaged and 107 animals died due to rain-related incidents during the period, relief commissioner Hrishikesh Bhaskar Yashod said, adding that excessive rainfall was recorded in 56 of the state’s 75 districts. The adverse weather conditions that persisted for more than 48 hours have eased somewhat and are now confined mainly to the Terai region, which is likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall, the weather department said. Relief commissioner Yashod said rainfall was 7,385% above normal in Farrukhabad, 5,664% in Kannauj, 4,408% in Shahjahanpur , 4,240% in Hamirpur and 4,100% in Mahoba.
River rafting operations in the Ganga at Uttarakhand ’s Muni-ki-Reti in Rishikesh have been halted indefinitely following continuous rainfall over the past two days, with authorities deciding to resume activities only after the weather improves and the river recedes to a safer level, said officials.
Tehri Garhwal district tourism and adventure officer Sobat Singh Rana said, “As it is currently raining across the Garhwal division and in view of Meteorological department advisories, river rafting has been halted with immediate effect until further directives are issued. Rafting will resume only after an assessment of weather conditions, the monsoonal forecast, the Ganga’s water level and the weather forecast for next week,” said.
