The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a string of alerts as rain continues to batter several parts of the country.
In Himachal Pradesh, incessant rainfall triggered cloudbursts and flash floods, with IMD predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall in the coming days.
An orange alert has also been issued for today for the northern state, and flash-flood warnings over the next 24 hours. The state witnessed 11 cloudburst incidents, four flash floods and a major landslide on Tuesday, most of them in Mandi district, claiming the lives of 13.
Regional weather forecast:
Northwest India
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Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall is expected in East Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab. Specifically, East Rajasthan may witness extremely heavy rainfall on July 3, while very heavy rainfall is predicted for Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand on or between July 5 to July 7.
West India
The IMD has forecast extremely heavy rainfall for the south Konkan and Goa on July 3, and the Ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra on July 3, 6, and 7. It has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall for the Konkan, Goa, and Gujarat regions during the next seven days.
East and Central India
Isolated heavy rainfall is expected in Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha. East Madhya Pradesh may witness very heavy rainfall during July 3-7.
Northeast India
IMD predicted light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorm, lightning and isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over Northeast India during the next 7 days, with isolated extremely heavy rainfall over Meghalaya on July 6.
South Peninsular India
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Extremely heavy rainfall is expected in Coastal and South Interior Karnataka on July 3. Kerala, Mahe, and Interior Karnataka may experience heavy rainfall during July 3-6.
Kedarnath yatra temporarily suspended
Meanwhile, the pilgrimage to Kedarnath was on Thursday (July 3), temporarily suspended following a landslide triggered by heavy rains at Munkatiya near Sonprayag en route to the Himalayan temple.
According to police, the road has been completely blocked by debris and stones at the Munkatiya sliding zone, prompting the administration to halt the yatra.
Some pilgrims returning from Gaurikund were trapped in the sliding zone but were rescued by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).