Authorities in New Delhi on Wednesday warned of widespread flooding as the water level in the Yamuna river flowing through the Indian capital reached record levels after heavy rains in northern India since the weekend.
The Central Water Commission said the Yamuna's waters reached an extreme level of 207.71 metres in Delhi's north district on Wednesday, 2.38 metres above its danger level.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to the central government for assistance, while dismissing allegations that his administration had failed to prepare the city for heavy rains. He blamed the flood threat on the release of river water by the neighbouring state of Haryana.
"There have been no rains in Delhi [in the past two] days, however, levels of Yamuna are rising due to abnormally high volumes of water being released by Haryana at Hathnikund barrage. Urge centre to intervene and ensure that levels in Yamuna don’t rise further,” Mr Kejriwal wrote on Twitter.
The chief minister called an emergency meeting of local officials to discus the flood threat and later said he had notified the National Disaster Response Force that its help may be needed.
After the meeting, Mr Kejriwal said he had asked district magistrates to suspend classes at schools so that they could be turned into relief camps.
"I appeal to the people who stay in the affected areas to vacate their homes with whatever essentials they need as soon as possible. We have made adequate arrangements for everything, including food and toilets, at camps,” the Indian Express newspaper reported him saying.
New Delhi has been on high alert as the flow of the Yamuna approached danger levels after days of heavy rain across north India.
Thousands of people living along the banks of the Yamuna were ordered to leave their homes on Wednesday.
Schools were shut on Monday after the city received the most rainfall in a single day in July in four decades.
Official data showed that monsoon rains across the country in the first week of July produced about 2 per cent more rainfall than normal.
The summer monsoon brings South Asia about 80 per cent of its annual rainfall. While the rains are essential for agriculture, they also bring death and destruction because of flooding and landslides.
The rainfall is hard to forecast and varies considerably, but scientists say climate change is making the monsoon stronger and more erratic.
