Delhi flooded again after heavy rain; 2 dead; flights diverted; schools shut

A woman and her child drowned as heavy rain lashed Delhi on Wednesday (July 31), with Mayur Vihar recording 119 mm rainfall in three hours. Large parts of the city were inundated and the Delhi government announced the closure of all schools on August 1. At least 10 flights were diverted on Wednesday evening and a house collapsed in north Delhi.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Safdarjung — the city’s primary weather station — recorded 79.2 mm rainfall between 5.30 pm and 8.30 pm. The weather stations at Mayur Vihar recorded 119 mm rainfall, Delhi University 77.5 mm, Pusa 66.5 mm and Palam 43.7 mm.

A 22-year-old woman and her toddler drowned in Ghazipur after they fell into a drain. According to the police in Ghazipur, Tanuja and her three-year-old son Priyansh were out to buy household items from a weekly market when they slipped into a drain due to waterlogging and drowned. The incident occurred near the Khoda Colony area, where the roadside drain was under construction.

10 flights diverted

At least 10 flights that were to land at Delhi’s IGI Airport were diverted on Wednesday evening due to the rain.

An official said at least 10 flights were diverted at the airport after 19.30 hours due to bad weather. Of these, eight were diverted to Jaipur and two flights to Lucknow.

On social media platform X, airlines said flights might get affected due to the bad weather.

Messages from airlines

“We have a special announcement straight from the heavenly skies! The rain gods have decided to shower #Delhi with their blessings tonight. As a result, we’re expecting heavy rainfall throughout the night,” IndiGo said in a post on X and asked passengers to check the status of their flights.

Vistara said flight UK998 from Pune to Delhi has been diverted to Lucknow due to bad weather at the Delhi airport.

Flights to and from Delhi may get affected due to bad weather this evening. “Guests are advised to start early for the airport, as slow traffic and waterlogging may delay movement,” Air India said.

SpiceJet said that due to “bad weather (heavy rain) in Delhi (DEL), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected”.

Not a cloud burst

Earlier, the IMD’s Automatic Weather Station (AWS) network had said that the Pragati Maidan observatory in central Delhi recorded 112.5 mm of rainfall in just one hour, pointing to the possibility of a cloud burst.

Extreme precipitation in a short period, specifically 100 mm of rainfall within an hour, is defined by the IMD as a cloud burst.

However, the weather office later denied this and said, “The data is incorrect.” The National Flash Flood Guidance Bulletin also included Delhi in its list of “areas of concern”, the weather office had said.

Red alert

The IMD had also issued a “red” warning, which calls for action and vigilance, and advised people to remain indoors, secure windows and doors and refrain from unnecessary travel.

“Seeking safe shelter and avoiding tree cover are recommended to mitigate risks. Stay tuned for further updates as the situation develops,” it said in the advisory.

House collapses

The heavy rainfall brought the national capital to a screeching halt, inundated large parts of the city, choking key stretches with unending traffic. and leaving people stranded as roads turned into rivers.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) received four complaints about waterlogging and three about fallen trees.

A house collapsed in the Sabji Mandi area of north Delhi, a Delhi Fire Services official said.

“We received a call at 8.57 pm regarding the collapse of a house in the Sabji Mandi area close to Ghanta Ghar near Robin Cinema. Five fire tenders were rushed to the spot,” an official said.

In Old Delhi's Daryaganj, the boundary wall of a school collapsed upon cars parked outside while the road beneath caved in.

Coaching centre area flooded again

Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar area, where three students died due to flooding in the basement of a coaching centre last week, was again submerged on Wednesday evening, with commuters wading through waterlogged lanes and fearing for their safety.

Several videos surfaced of the flood-like situation on the stretch that is lined with many coaching centres. The BJP attacked the AAP saying it had not learnt any lesson from the tragedy even as AAP shared videos of its MLA from the area Durgesh Pathak assisting people on the ground and ensuring water was being pumped out.

Drenched in the rain, students who have been protesting since the incident happened on July 27 shouted slogans while standing in thigh-high water.

Students continue to protest

“We had come out of our homes for dinner and it suddenly started raining and within minutes the whole area got flooded with water,” a resident said.

“Even after five days (of the death of the UPSC aspirants), the administration and MCD are only using their complete force to suppress the protest and have done nothing to set the drains cleaned,” he charged.

A civil services aspirant, who has been part of the protest in the Rajinder Nagar area, said, “There is sparking in the electric poles. Rainwater is gushing into the basements. Students are worried about their safety in such a situation.”

AAP MLA joins students

Another student said that the MCD started a cleaning drive and has claimed that they have cleaned all the drains, but the condition is the same again.

“They (MCD) carried out demolition of encroachments over the stormwater drains, and claimed to have cleaned the drains but the rain again cleared the picture. Knee-deep water accumulated here,” said the civil service aspirant.

AAP MLA from Rajinder Nagar Durgesh Pathak reached the area. In a video shared by the Aam Aadmi Party on its X handle, he could be seen wading through water while being accompanied by some students.

Inundated areas

Multiple other areas, including Lutyen’s Delhi, Kashmere Gate and Rajinder Nagar, among others, were inundated following the heavy rain. Visuals from south Delhi’s Qutub Minar area showed vehicles wading through waterlogged roads while police tried to manage traffic.

The traffic police issued an advisory, asking commuters to avoid certain roads. Vehicular movement was hit from Moolchand towards Chirag Delhi, both carriageways on Anuvrat Marg, Outer Ring Road, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Marg, and Mahatma Gandhi Marg, among other key roads.

Education Minister Atishi later announced that all schools would in Delhi remain closed on Thursday in the aftermath of the heavy rain and the forecast of more rainfall on Thursday.

She said in a post on X, “In light of the very heavy rainfall this evening and the forecast of heavy rainfall tomorrow, all schools — both government and private — will remain closed on 1st August.”

Warning from Lt Governor

Delhi Lt Governor, in a post on X, said he cautioned officers to remain alert in light of the heavy downpour in Delhi.

“Apart from ensuring minimum inconvenience to people in general, they are advised to specifically address issues at sites prone to waterlogging, including coaching centres,” he said in the post.

(With agency inputs)