- Rain alert for many dists including Bhopal
Bhopal: The monsoon season is currently delivering heavy rainfall across Madhya Pradesh. On Tuesday morning, Indore and Ujjain were hit particularly hard, with Ujjain’s streets submerged in knee-deep water.
By Tuesday afternoon, Bhopal experienced a heavy downpour accompanied by a thunderstorm, resulting in extensive water-logging across several localities and residents of low lying localities had to face great hardship.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a heavy rainfall alert for 15 districts, including Bhopal. Forecasts indicate that the showers will also affect Gwalior and Jabalpur.
Strong Rainfall System in Place
IMD Bhopal reports that a monsoon trough has shifted slightly southwards, activating a low-pressure system originating from the Bay of Bengal. Furthermore, a cyclonic circulation over western Rajasthan has merged with the monsoon trough. Another cyclonic circulation over Gujarat is also contributing to the heavy rainfall across the state. A new low-pressure area is anticipated to form in the Bay of Bengal around July 19-20, sustaining the heavy rainfall pattern.
On Monday, 19 districts in Madhya Pradesh recorded heavy rainfall. In Khargone, floodwaters from the Bankur River swept away a tanker, and Barwaha saw homes and shops inundated. The Narmada River’s water level rose by one meter.
Sehore’s Ashta and Agar Malwa experienced such intense rainfall that the streets transformed into ponds, while Mandla recorded the highest rainfall at about 2.5 cm.
Ratlam also received significant rainfall, nearly one inch, while Chhindwara and Jabalpur saw about half an inch of rain. The rain persisted in various other districts, including Indore, Sehore, Bhopal, Morena, Narsinghpur, Sagar, Umaria, Dhar, Gwalior, Narmadapuram, Khargone, and Shivpuri.
Rising Water Levels in Dams
The continuous downpour has led to rising water levels in major dams across the state. Bhopal’s Kolar and Kaliasot Dams, Shahdol’s Bansagar Dam, Khandwa’s Omkareshwar Dam, Jabalpur’s Bargi Dam, Narmadapuram’s Tawa Dam have all seen increases of one to two feet in water levels. With the ongoing heavy rains, these levels are expected to rise further.
