Unpredicted storms leave 5 dead in Delhi

A violent storm that apparently caught the India Meteorological Department (IMD) unawares lashed Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) early on Friday, killing five people, uprooting hundreds of trees, disrupting flight schedules and deluging the city with the second-heaviest May day showers in 124 years.

- Jasjeev Gandhiok and Snehil Sinha

The Capital received 77mm of rain during the three-hour downpour, which began around 5am. Within minutes, fierce winds that touched speeds of 80km/hour whipped through the city, bending trees and snapping branches which crashed onto homes and vehicles. Traffic disruptions were reported as commuters tried to navigate through flooded streets and past fallen branches.

A 26-year-old woman and her three children were killed when a tree was uprooted and fell on their house in Najafgarh, said officials. They were identified as Jyoti Devi (26) and her children Aryan Kumar (7), Rishabh Kumar (5) and Priyansh Kumar (seven months). Her husband Ajay Kumar (30) sustained minor injuries in his chest and wrist.

In Green Park, a 25-year-old construction worker, Ankit Singh, was electrocuted while trying to take cover during the rains. Singh, said police, came in contact with an iron gate which was charged due to a snapped overhead wire.

By 8.30am, Delhi received 77mm of rain, the second highest 24-hour spell of rain in May since 1901. The wettest was May 20, 2021, when the Capital was pummelled by 119.3mm of rain. Residents of cities in NCR were also jolted awake by the squall.

Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta inspected several waterlogged streets, starting with those in Majnu Ka Tila, and said Friday morning's chaos should "serve as a warning for all departments".

"Immediate steps are being taken. The rain today should serve as a warning for all departmentsif no concrete steps are taken in drain cleaning and road maintenance, the monsoon could lead to a far worse situation," Gupta said, even as she added that the "previous government handed over a crumbling system".