LUCKNOW: At least seven people were killed in parts of central and eastern Uttar Pradesh with incessant rains lashing the region since early Thursday. Some areas in the state have witnessed heavy downpours for the last 24 hours.
Low-lying areas in Lucknow saw inundation with power lines snapped due to the uprooting of trees in several areas.
In some areas, railway tracks were submerged and underpasses were closed down due to waterlogged roads.
The Met department has predicted heavy rains in at least 30 districts of the state in the next 40 hours.
CM Yogi Adityanath's scheduled visit to Barabanki district was called off as water filled the event venue as well as the temporary helipad that was made for his chopper to land.
In a number of districts including Rae Bareli and Amethi, the respective district administrations have closed all the schools up to class eight for the next two days due to heavy rains. In Sujanpura area of Jaunpur, three persons including a woman and a child, died after a wall collapsed following incessant rains. A similar incident took place in Barabanki’s Ramsanehi Ghat area, where two people died. Deaths were reported from Kaushambi, Ayodhya and Sitapur districts as well.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for the eastern region of Uttar Pradesh predicting fairly widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy showers on Thursday and Friday.
However, for Western UP and Uttarakhand, an orange alert for September 16 has been issued with an advisory urging residents to "be prepared for rough weather".
The state capital Lucknow recorded 115 mm of rain during the last 24 hours. No immediate respite is predicted for now. Considering the grim situation, the Lucknow district administration has issued an advisory asking people not to venture out and avoid going in crowded places.
Helpline numbers – 6389300137, 6389300138, 6389300139, have also been released by the Lucknow District Administration to impart help to those caught in the vagary of inclement weather.
The weather office has issued a heavy rain alert in 30 districts of UP for the next 48 hours, including Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Barabanki, Sultanpur, Mathura, Sitapur, Ayodhya, Moradabad, Shamli, Varanasi, Sambhal, Bulandshahr, Bijnor, Amroha,
Gorakhpur, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and Prayagraj.
Not only heavy rains but strong gusts of wind at a speed of 87 kilometers per hour have also been predicted by the weathermen.
Other districts where heavy rainfall is predicted are Amethi, Bahraich, Lakhimpur Kheri, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Kanpur Nagar, Kanpur Dehat, Auraiya, Etawah, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Farrukhabad, Shahjahanpur, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Badaun, Kasganj, Etah, Mathura, Aligarh and Noida.
A weather official said that the shortfall in rain is likely to be compensated in September.