Monsoon refuses to relent, over 125 dead in UP, Bihar
Extended low pressure areas creating monsoon trough; more showers for 5 days
LUCKNOW/PATNA: At least 134 people have died in rain-related incidents across the country in the past three days, with Uttar Pradesh reporting the maximum cases and Bihar capital Patna reeling under knee-deep water on Sunday due to the sudden spurt in late monsoon rainfall.
In UP and Bihar, 127 people died due to heavy rainfall in the last 72 hours, according to data from the state disaster relief departments. Twenty-two interstate trains have been cancelled in as many days due to rain, an Indian Railways spokesperson said.
The latest spell of rainfall is due to extended low pressure areas creating monsoon trough in different parts of the country, which would result in more showers in the next five days, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
IMD director general M Mohapatra on Sunday said monsoon will retreat later than normal this year: from the second week of October. This is the first time since 1960 — the year IMD began keeping records — that the monsoon will remain active till midOctober. The monsoon season normally begins on June 1 and ends on September 30.
In Uttar Pradesh, relief officials said 20 people were killed in various rain-related incidents across the state in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 93 for the last three days.
According to the state’s Flood Management and Information System Centre (FMICS), the Ganga was flowing above the danger level in Ghazipur and Ballia districts while Kuano river was flowing above the danger mark in Gonda district.
UP relief commissioner GS Priyadarshi said a flood warning has been issued in 28 districts.
In Bihar, 23 deaths were reported from the worst-affected Patna, Bhagalpur and Kaimur districts in the last 24 hours. Several areas in the state capital were inundated on Sunday, with the city receiving 152mm of rain the
night before. Government hospitals and buildings — including the city’s second largest medical facility, the Nalanda Medical College Hospital — were waterlogged. The state disaster response force was deployed for rescue efforts and installed additional pumps across the city to flush out water, officials said.
Bihar’s principal secretary disaster management Pratyay Amrit said 15 districts where more rain is expected in the next 24 hours have been put on alert and all schools have been closed till Tuesday.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday held a meeting with district collectors to review the situation and directed them to provide all possible relief, said state water resources minister Sanjay Kumar Jha.
NEW DELHI: Monsoon may start retreating in or after the second week of October, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD). It will be the first time that monsoon would retreat in October since IMD started compiling such records in 1960.
IMD considers June, July, August and September as monsoon months. Normally, monsoon begins retreating on September 1, but the process has been delayed to the third week of September over the past decade.
This year, rainfall is 8% more than the long period average (LPA), indicating that this monsoon will end with “above normal” rains. IMD had forecast in April that monsoon rainfall will be “near normal” at 96% of the LPA.
“The monsoon trough is still very active. Low pressure areas are forming, bringing rain to different parts of the country. This is the first time since we have records from 1960 that monsoon has extended to October. The longest it remained active was till September 30 [in 2007],” said M Mohapatra, IMD director general.
For monsoon retreat announcement, rainfall should reduce or stop, moisture should reduce and circulation should change to anti-cyclonic pattern.
But a well-marked low pressure area has formed over the Gulf of Kutch and neighbourhood. its influence, widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls over Gujarat on September 29 and 30, with Isolated extremely heavy falls on September 29 is likely,” said IMD’s Sunday bulletin. Mohapatra added, “We cannot announce monsoon’s withdrawal unless it stops raining in northwest India. It’s still raining in Gujarat and Rajasthan.”
Bihar has experienced widespread and very heavy rainfall over the past two days.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated extremely heavy falls is also likely in Bihar until September 30, the bulletin said.