IMD forecasts heavy rain across 20 states, warns of flash floods

The India Meteorological Department has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall across roughly 20 states on Saturday, August 22, with East Madhya Pradesh facing the most significant warning of isolated very heavy rain.

Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are expected to see fairly widespread to widespread rainfall through the day, as the southwest monsoon system continues to bring active precipitation to northern India.

Heavy rainfall is also likely at isolated places across Assam, Meghalaya, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, and western Madhya Pradesh.

The northeastern states of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura are also under the IMD’s rainfall watch, alongside Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi.

Thunderstorm activity is forecast in parts of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and parts of the northeast.

Authorities in vulnerable areas have been urged to remain alert to the possibility of flash floods, waterlogging and landslides as the rain system moves across the country.

The IMD’s alert system uses a colour-coded scale, with orange and red warnings reserved for the most severe rainfall events that pose a direct threat to life and property.

State disaster management authorities in the affected regions have been placed on standby, with emergency response teams pre-positioned in districts identified as most vulnerable to flash flooding.

Farmers in the affected states have also been advised to take precautions for standing crops, as excessive rainfall at this stage of the monsoon season can damage yields ahead of the harvest period.

Road and rail authorities in hilly stretches of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir have also been asked to remain on alert for possible landslides that could disrupt travel through mountain corridors.

The IMD said its forecasts would be updated through the day as the monsoon trough shifts, with a fresh bulletin expected to refine district-level warnings for Sunday.

Photo by Koshy Koshy, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0