Rain wreaks havoc in northern India
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COMMENTS 
Heavy monsoon rains and landslides swept the hilly areas and Gangetic belt of northern India over the weekend, killing at least 100 people
The annual monsoon season from June to October brings rains that are vital to agriculture in India. However, the monsoon also takes a heavy human toll every year.
Northern India is experiencing heavy rainfall this season, after a drought last year. The rainfall recorded between September 1 and September 15 was 22% above the average for the period, according to the India Meteorological Department.
In August, flash floods killed at least 175 people in the remote and mountainous Ladakh region. In neighbouring Pakistan, floods have killed over 1,700 people and damaged or destroyed nearly 1.9 homes in the past six weeks.
Twenty-four people died on Sunday as falling boulders crushed their homes in three villages in Almorah district in Uttarakhand state, said Prashant Kumar Tamta, a state government spokesman. Another 23 people were either swept away by floodwaters or died when their homes collapsed in landslides in Pitthoragarh, Champawat and Uttarkashi regions of the state.
Meanwhile, the rain continues unabated threatening dozens of villages near Tehri dam whose water level is nearing the danger mark. The area is 400 km southwest of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. The state government has sought the help of the army, ITBP and other paramilitary forces for relief and rescue operations, the government spokesman added.
The threat of floods looms large over Delhi too as Haryana reportedly released around 7 lakh cusecs of water into the Yamuna river on Sunday. Around 689,420 cusecs of water were discharged into the Yamuna, whose levels are rising. The river is flowing at 205.14 cm; the danger mark is 204.83 cm.
Upstream, the Yamuna continues to flow at an alarmingly high level in Haryana, posing the threat of heavy flooding in villages along the river, officials said. Incessant rainfall in the upper reaches of the Shivalik hills and in Uttarakhand has led to heavy inflows. The Haryana government has issued fresh flood alerts in Karnal, Panipat, Sonepat, Faridabad and Palwal districts.
The Ganga too has risen two or three metres above the danger mark at Haridwar, inundating several areas of the district. Likewise, the Kosi, Ramganga and other major rivers are flowing above the danger mark with the authorities issuing warnings to people living close to the rivers to move to safer areas.
The worst affected district is Almorah where several villages have been struck by landslides, killing 22 people and trapping 14 others in debris, the Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre (DMMC) said. Eleven people were killed when two houses were swept away in landslips at Balta village, Avalbagh block.
On Saturday, five people were killed when their houses were flattened by landslides at Pilkha village. In nearby Devali village, 15 people were trapped in the debris of collapsed houses. So far, three bodies have been recovered.
In Nainital district, eight people were killed in different landslides and cloudbursts. The worst affected area in the district was Ramola where four people were washed away in a cloudburst. All four bodies have been recovered. Two people were killed in Haripurdongia village in the Roorkee area of Haridwar district.
In nearby Ibrahimpur village, five members of a family including four children were buried alive. In Raini-Malari village of Chamoli district, two people were killed. Three were trapped under the debris in Lansdowne area of Pauri district.
Floodwaters have submerged the national highway at Mirapur, which is a major link between Assam and Delhi. Floods have inundated more than six blocks of the adjacent districts of Siwan and Saran.
Source: Press Trust of India, September 20, 2010
Associated Press, September 20, 2010
The Hindu, September 20, 2010
IANS, September 20, 2010
Hindustan Times, September 20, 2010