Deadly flooding strikes Pune, India, forces thousands to flee
By
Eric Leister, AccuWeather senior meteorologist &
Robert Richards, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Sep 26, 2019 1:45 PM EDT
Residents are forced onto the streets and search through collapsed buildings following a tremor in northeastern Pakistan days after a powerful quake killed 38 people in the same area and destroyed infrastructure and roads.
Torrential rainfall triggered deadly flooding around Pune, India, on Thursday with at least 17 fatalities reported, according to the Economic Times.
At least four people have been reported missing as flooding continues in the region.
More than 15,000 people have been rescued or evacuated due to the flooding, including some from rooftops and others who were forced to cling to trees.
India's National Disaster Response Force was deployed to the area to assist in rescue and recovery operations.
The heaviest rainfall has ended across Pune, which is about a three-hour drive southeast from Mumbai, and mostly dry weather is expected for the weekend.
An Indian man wades through a street inundated with flood waters after heavy rainfall in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
"Last night, we had a crazy weather system," Amit Paranjape, who lives in Pune, told AccuWeather. Paranjape, a tech entrepreneur who attended grad school in the U.S. and worked in Texas for more than 12 years, was tracking the weather in Pune on Wednesday using AccuWeather.com's free satellite products and posting screenshots of the storm system for his followers on Twitter.
Paranjape described himself as a "weather enthusiast" and said the city, a major hub for software and manufacturing industries, experienced "quite intense rain for three to four hours," on Wednesday evening. "Very heavy rate," he added. Speaking with AccuWeather over Twitter on Thursday, he reported that the heavy rain had subsided.
While conditions will continue to improve around Pune, there will be a continued risk for flooding across parts of northern and western India through Monday.
Areas at risk for flooding downpours include Ahmedabad, Surat, Lucknow, Patna and Ranchi.
Rainfall totals of 75-150 mm (3-6 inches) are possible through Sunday with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 300 mm (12 inches) in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.
A big change in the weather pattern is expected next week as drier air filters into northern India after weeks of downpours.
The monsoon typically begins its yearly withdrawal from northwest to southeast across India in early September, but this year it has been delayed by nearly a month.
The greatest risk of flooding rainfall this upcoming week will be across southern and northeastern India.
The prolonged monsoon rainfall has also impacted agriculture as waterlogged crops have begun to rot across northern India, according to The Guardian.
Rainfall for the month of September has been 37 percent above normal, and that number is likely to remain the same or rise through the end of the month as downpours continue.
By Oct. 1, the monsoon has normally withdrawn from nearly half of the country, making this year one of the latest withdrawals in recent decades, according to the India Meteorological Department.
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News / Weather News
Deadly flooding strikes Pune, India, forces thousands to flee
By Eric Leister, AccuWeather senior meteorologist & Robert Richards, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Sep 26, 2019 1:45 PM EDT
Residents are forced onto the streets and search through collapsed buildings following a tremor in northeastern Pakistan days after a powerful quake killed 38 people in the same area and destroyed infrastructure and roads.
Torrential rainfall triggered deadly flooding around Pune, India, on Thursday with at least 17 fatalities reported, according to the Economic Times.
At least four people have been reported missing as flooding continues in the region.
More than 15,000 people have been rescued or evacuated due to the flooding, including some from rooftops and others who were forced to cling to trees.
India's National Disaster Response Force was deployed to the area to assist in rescue and recovery operations.
The heaviest rainfall has ended across Pune, which is about a three-hour drive southeast from Mumbai, and mostly dry weather is expected for the weekend.
An Indian man wades through a street inundated with flood waters after heavy rainfall in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
"Last night, we had a crazy weather system," Amit Paranjape, who lives in Pune, told AccuWeather. Paranjape, a tech entrepreneur who attended grad school in the U.S. and worked in Texas for more than 12 years, was tracking the weather in Pune on Wednesday using AccuWeather.com's free satellite products and posting screenshots of the storm system for his followers on Twitter.
Paranjape described himself as a "weather enthusiast" and said the city, a major hub for software and manufacturing industries, experienced "quite intense rain for three to four hours," on Wednesday evening. "Very heavy rate," he added. Speaking with AccuWeather over Twitter on Thursday, he reported that the heavy rain had subsided.
While conditions will continue to improve around Pune, there will be a continued risk for flooding across parts of northern and western India through Monday.
Areas at risk for flooding downpours include Ahmedabad, Surat, Lucknow, Patna and Ranchi.
Rainfall totals of 75-150 mm (3-6 inches) are possible through Sunday with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 300 mm (12 inches) in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.
A big change in the weather pattern is expected next week as drier air filters into northern India after weeks of downpours.
The monsoon typically begins its yearly withdrawal from northwest to southeast across India in early September, but this year it has been delayed by nearly a month.
The greatest risk of flooding rainfall this upcoming week will be across southern and northeastern India.
Related:
The prolonged monsoon rainfall has also impacted agriculture as waterlogged crops have begun to rot across northern India, according to The Guardian.
Rainfall for the month of September has been 37 percent above normal, and that number is likely to remain the same or rise through the end of the month as downpours continue.
By Oct. 1, the monsoon has normally withdrawn from nearly half of the country, making this year one of the latest withdrawals in recent decades, according to the India Meteorological Department.
Report a Typo