India: Dozens killed as monsoon flooding engulfs Mumbai; Monsoon onset declared in Delhi
The heaviest monsoon rains in a decade hit Mumbai recently. According to reports, dozens of people have died as a result. The rain and destruction have also hurt the financial industry of India and surrounding areas due to the destruction.
After Mumbai endured the worst monsoon flooding in over a decade, the risk for life-threatening flooding will ramp up across more of northern India in the coming days.
While the start of the monsoon was officially declared in the National Capital Region (NCR), parts of north-central and northeastern India will face a greater threat of flooding through this weekend.
A slow-moving monsoon low will continue to produce a wide swath of torrential rain around Madhya Pradesh daily through this weekend.
Locations that will be at greatest risk for flooding include Indore, Bhopal, Chhindwara and Jabalpur.
Rainfall amounts of 125-250 mm (5-10 inches) will be common through this weekend, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 500 mm (20 inches).
"This monsoon low may reverse course and track back eastward to eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, threatening residents in these states with flooding early next week," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.
Downpours will also continue to stream onto the western coast of India, including Mumbai, through early next week. Additional significant rain will aggravate flooding problems and trigger new mudslides.
"On the other side of India, another monsoon low will spread torrential rain and the risk for flooding and mudslides across Northeast India, Bangladesh and neighboring Myanmar this weekend," Pydynowski said.
Despite a delayed start to the monsoon, heavy rainfall in recent days has already erased the seasonal deficit around Mumbai.
Rainfall from Friday into Tuesday totaled around more than 800 mm (32 inches) in Mumbai, causing flooding and significant travel disruptions across the city.
A boy plays as a street vendor attends to a customer in a waterlogged street following heavy rains in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, July 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Officials told CNN that the recent inundation of monsoon rain is the worst Mumbai has endured in more than a decade.
The heavy rainfall has caused deadly flooding and multiple wall collapses within Maharashtra since Monday. There are varying reports to the number of killed.
CNN reports that the death toll reached at least 43 as of Wednesday. The Associated Press reports at least 34 people were killed since Monday night, including 15 after a dam burst on Tuesday in Ratnagiri inundating homes.
On Saturday, another wall collapse in Pune killed 16 people living in tin-roofed huts following heavy rainfall.
A public holiday was declared for Tuesday in Maharashtra and the government stated that only emergency services would be in operation.
Rescuers and others gather at the spot after heavy rainfall caused a wall to collapse onto shanties, in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2019. More than a dozen people were killed even as forecasters warned of more rains. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
The early week downpours resulted in delays to the commuter train network, flooded roadways and numerous flight delays, according to Reuters.
Elsewhere, residents of the NCR will notice an increase in showers and thunderstorms into this weekend, but should not get hopeful for the start of an extended rainy period.
"Even with the official declaration on the monsoon's onset, the NCR will trend drier for next week," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls, who accurately predicted when the monsoon would reach the NCR back in mid-June.
"There are no signs of more substantial monsoon rain for the NCR until late July," he added.
Western Rajasthan may have to wait even longer for the rainy season to commence.
"While there can be light rain late July in western Rajasthan, more significant rain may stay absent until early August," Nicholls said.
A young Indian girl covers her face to protect from the heat as she walks on the dried bed of the River Tawi on a hot summer day in Jammu, India, Thursday, April 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
Hot and dry weather will instead hold across western Rajasthan, with AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures soaring to around 46 C (115 F) in the hottest locations daily into next week.
Rainfall across northwestern India was 33 percent less than normal during the month of June through the start of July, with parts of the NCR and western Uttar Pradesh more than 60 percent below normal.
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