The monsoon hits harder than ever in India, causing floods and landslides. The capital New Delhi, where roads were submerged in knee-deep water, received 153 millimeters of rainfall, the most in a single day in July for forty years. With meteorological services predicting another day of torrential rain, authorities ordered schools in New Delhi to close on Monday.
According to the Indian news agency PTI, fifteen people have died in the past 24 hours in six northern Indian states. Mountainous states were the worst affected, with six dead in Himachal Pradesh where landslides severed around 700 roads, said Omkar Sharma, a disaster management official. Meteorological services have predicted heavy rains in many parts of northern India for the next few days.
According to official data, the monsoon rains that fell over India in the first week of July were 2% above the normal amount. The monsoon rains, from June to September, represent in South Asia 70 to 80% of the annual precipitation. Every year they cause death and destruction, but the number of deadly floods and landslides has increased in recent years.