Heavy rain batters Delhi, 3 children among four dead; over 200 flights delayed

An intense storm with heavy early-morning rain hit the national capital on Friday, causing a house collapse that killed a woman and her three children and delaying more than 200 flights.

Many busy road stretches, including Minto Bridge and ITO, were waterlogged, causing heavy traffic jams in many areas.

The city received 77 mm rain in just three hours during the downpour which started around 5 am.

Visuals from several areas showed uprooted trees and people stuck in waterlogged roads. Videos surfaced on social media which showed half-submerged vehicles wading though Minto Road.

Major Somnath Marg in RK Puram, Minto Road and Khanpur were particularly affected in the rain.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert, urging people to remain extremely vigilant and take necessary precautions.

Three children and a woman died after a a tree fell on their house following strong gusty winds that accompanied rains in the city, causing it to collapse.

"We received a call regarding a house collapse in Kharkari Nahar village in Najafgarh at 5.25 am. We deployed multiple teams on the spot and four people were rescued from the rubble," a Delhi Fire Services official said.

They were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were declared dead, he said.

The deceased have been identified as Jyoti (26) and her children --- Aryan (7), Rishabh (5) and Priyansh (7 months). Her husband Ajay (30) sustained minor injuries in his chest and wrist.

According to IMD data, in the last three hours, the Safdarjung weather station, the city's primary observatory, recorded 77 mm of rainfall. Lodhi road recorded 78 mm, Palam recorded 30 mm, Najafgarh 19.5 mm, and Pitampura 32 mm of rainfall.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta inspected waterlogged road stretch at Majnu Ka Tila area while PWD minister Parvesh Verma reached the Minto bridge area to take stock of the situation.

"Waterlogging continues to be a concern across various parts of Delhi due to choked drains and pothole-ridden roads. Officials have been instructed to immediately identify all such vulnerable spots in the city that are prone to waterlogging," she said.

The chief minister described the pre-monsoon showers as a "warning sign" for the city's infrastructure, calling it the result of a decade-long backlog in development.

"If Delhi doesn't see planned development, such management issues will continue to arise. But today, the entire administration is on its toes to address these challenges," she added.

The Aam Aadmi Party lashed out at the BJP government with senior leader and former Delhi CM Atishi posting videos of waterlogging in Dhaula Kuan and ITO on X.

"Is this what the people of Delhi expected from the 4-engine BJP Govt?" she posted on X, referring to the BJP governments at the Centre, in Delhi, the municipal corporation and the local MP.

Three flights were diverted and over 200 flights were delayed at the IGI airport as thunderstorms and gusty winds disrupted operations.

An official said two flights that were to land at the Delhi airport were diverted to Jaipur and one to Ahmedabad.

More than 200 flights were delayed, according to data from flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which operates the airport, in a post on X at 5.20 am, said some flights were affected owing to inclement weather conditions.

Later in a post on X at 7.25 am, DIAL said the thunderstorm has passed but there is some impact on flight operations due to adverse weather conditions.

Delhi Fire Services received around 100 calls of rain-related incidents during the 3-4 hours of storm and heavy showers. Trees were uprooted in many parts of Delhi further affecting traffic on the roads.

The Public Works Department said it received 100 complaints of waterlogging by 12 pm and added that 150 quick response teams were deployed to clear waterlogging and other problems.

In the Lutyen's Delhi area, 25 tree fall cases and 12 complaints related to waterlogging were received.

Narendra Girsa, Councillor of Dwarka's Nasirpur area, said that an MCD school in the locality was flooded with water after rainfall.

Girsa said the school was built on a lower ground level while the surrounding areas are elevated, which caused rainwater to flow into the school premises.

The IMD has predicted moderate to heavy rain for Friday and Saturday, along with moderate to severe thunderstorms and wind speeds reaching 70-80 kmph in parts of Delhi-NCR.

Light rain is likely in some other areas of the region.