Monsoon mayhem: Flash floods, road cave-ins, and red alerts paralyse cities from Delhi to Kerala

Monsoon has commenced in India, bringing respite to some states, while creating havoc in others. Several parts of the country have been witnessing overnight rainfalls, gutting cities and bringing lives to a standstill.

Here's a look at how the monsoon is creating mayhem in India:

Red alert in Delhi

Delhi woke up to grey skies, waterlogged roads and uprooted trees as overnight rain continued through Thursday morning, with the India Meteorological Department issuing a 'red' alert for the day.

Safdarjung, the capital's base weather station, recorded 72.6 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours that ended at 8.30 am, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The Lodhi Road weather station received 80.2 mm of rainfall, Ridge 77.8 mm, Palam 63.0 mm and Ayanagar 57.4 mm during this period.

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The IMD issued a 'red' alert for Delhi, warning of moderate to heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning during the day.

The minimum temperature in the city settled at 24.3 degrees Celsius, 3.6 notches below normal, the IMD said.

Landslide in Kerala

The IMD on Wednesday issued a red alert for three districts in Kerala, warning of extremely heavy rain, officials said.

The India Meteorological Department said a red alert had been issued for Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad districts, indicating the likelihood of extremely heavy rainfall exceeding 20.4 cm.

Meanwhile, a landslide swept through Wayanad, with several people going missing and at least five dead.

Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday visited the landslide-affected area of the hill district and said that the focus currently was on searching for the five persons missing.

The CM, who also visited the injured persons in the hospital and the people relocated to relief camps, told reporters here that the continuous rain was posing a hurdle in the search and rescue operations.

Maharashtra rains

Large parts of Maharashtra continued to reel under heavy monsoon rains, with swelling rivers, landslides, waterlogging and transport disruptions affecting normal life across the state.

In Pune district's Pimpri Chinchwad, a massive mound of garbage collapsed onto a three-storey building being used as the administrative office of a private waste-processing company operating on behalf of the civic body. The incident occurred in Moshi, where officials said 11 of the 23 people initially believed to be trapped remain unaccounted for.

In Nashik district, incessant rainfall has caused the Godavari river to swell, while landslides and road closures have been reported from several areas.

The district administration has advised residents living along the banks of the Godavari, Kadva and Girna rivers to move their valuables, livestock and other belongings to safer locations as water continues to be released from reservoirs, including Palkhed and the Nandur Madhmeshwar weir.

In Raigad district, train services between Neral and Karjat stations were suspended for nearly an hour after the overflowing Ulhas river inundated railway tracks, officials said.

Adverse weather and poor visibility at Mumbai's international airport also disrupted air travel, forcing nine inbound flights to be diverted to nearby airports. All the affected flights later returned and landed safely in Mumbai.

With inputs from agencies