A hailstorm accompanied by heavy rain and thunder lashed Delhi-NCR late Wednesday evening, causing two deaths and injuries to 11 people in separate rain-related incidents. Meanwhile there were reports of tree felling, waterlogging and traffic jams in many areas, after the city endured a hot and humid day.
Flight operations were hit at the Delhi airport as 13 flights were diverted, while Metro passengers on the Yellow Line were stranded for hours.
Deaths In Delhi-NCR Due To Storm
According to the Delhi Police, a 22-year-old youth and a person with disability died, while at least 11 were injured, in separate rain-related incidents in the national capital Wednesday evening.
Around 7.50 pm, a high-beam electricity pole collapsed during a thunderstorm near the Lodhi Road flyover in southeast Delhi, close to the Nizamuddin area.
The pole fell in the middle of the road, hitting the disabled man who was passing by on a tricycle.
"He was rushed to Safdarjung Hospital in an ambulance but was declared brought dead," a police officer told PTI. The identity of the man is being ascertained.
According to an eyewitness, the wind was so strong that even trees and poles swayed dangerously. Suddenly, the electric pole snapped and fell, crushing the man beneath it.
In another incident, a 22-year-old man died after a tree fell on him and two motorcycles in northeast Delhi's Gokulpuri area around 8.15 pm.
Azhar, a resident of Vijay Mohalla in Maujpur, was critically injured and rushed to GTB Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
At least six people were reportedly injured after a portion of the grill of an old foot overbridge near Mukherjee Nagar collapsed.
The matter was reported at 8.11 pm to the Delhi Fire Service. "Five to six people have been injured," a DFS officer said.
A 55-year-old was injured after a balcony of a building fell down in north Delhi's Kashmere Gate area opposite the state election commission office.
Four people, three men, one woman, were injured in outer Delhi's Mangolpuri area after a balcony of a building fell on them. Three two-wheelers were also damaged in the incident
13 Flights Diverted At Delhi Airport
At least 13 flights were diverted at the Delhi airport on Wednesday due to heavy rain and thunderstorm.
PTI citing sources reported that 12 flights were diverted to Jaipur and one international flight was diverted to Mumbai.
"Our flight schedules are currently impacted due to the heavy rains and thunderstorm sweeping across Delhi, Chandigarh and Kolkata," IndiGo said in a post on X.
Delhi airport operator DIAL said flight operations may be impacted due to inclement weather conditions and thunderstorms in the national capital.
Air India, in a post on X, said rain and thunderstorms may disrupt flights to/from Delhi this evening.
"Due to bad weather (thunderstorm with heavy rain) in Delhi (DEL), all departures/ arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected. Additionally, traffic movement to the airport might be affected due to heavy rains," SpiceJet said in a post on X.
Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) operates the IGIA in the national capital.
"Due to inclement weather conditions and thunderstorms in Delhi, flight operations may get impacted at Delhi Airport.
"Our on-ground teams are diligently working with all stakeholders to ensure a seamless and efficient passenger experience," DIAL said in a post on X.
Power Outage Across Several Areas In Delhi
Several parts of the national capital faced outages as a late Wednesday evening rainy storm pummelled the city.
The thunderstorm, accompanied by a hailing, caused power disruption in parts of the city, primarily due to falling of trees and their branches on electricity cables, said a spokesperson of BSES discoms BRPL and BYPL.
"BSES Operations and Maintenance teams are on a high alert, with Quick Response Teams promptly deployed to attend to complaints. In most cases, power supply is being restored swiftly," he said.
In a few pockets, however, restoration is taking longer than usual primarily due to the damage caused to electricity infrastructure, he said.
"As a precautionary measure we had to temporarily switch off power supply in certain areas to prevent electrocution and ensure public safety. The safety and well-being of citizens remains the highest priority for us," he said.
Power supply in parts of Bawana, Narela, Jahangirpuri, Civil Lines, Shakti Nagar, Model Town, Wazirabad, and Dhirpur in north Delhi was affected, TPDDL said in a statement.
"To ensure public safety, electricity supply had to be temporarily suspended in certain areas as a precaution to prevent electrocution," it said.
"Tata Power-DDL's Operations and Maintenance teams are maintaining a high state of readiness, with Quick Response Teams (QRTs) swiftly addressing service complaints," it said.
Power restoration is proceeding quickly in most of the affected areas, it added.
Metro Services Disrupted Due To Storm
Hailstorm and heavy rain damaged overhead equipment and blocked tracks of the Delhi metro at some places, disrupting services on the rapid transit system's Red, Yellow, and Pink Lines on Wednesday evening, an official said.
According to the weather department, winds gusting up to 60-70 kmph were reported across Delhi and nearby areas. Palam recorded a wind speed of 20 knots (approximately 35 kmph), gusting up to 40 knots (around 72 kmph).
"Due to the sudden windstorm, there has been some damage to the overhead equipment and external objects have fallen onto metro tracks at certain locations," a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation spokesperson said.
"As a result, metro services are affected and are being regulated on the impacted sections near Shaheed Nagar, Jahangirpuri, and Nizamuddin stations on the Red, Yellow, and Pink Lines respectively," the spokesperson added.
Efforts are underway to remove the debris and repair the overhead equipment system to restore normal services as quickly as possible, the official added.
