Raging Yamuna nears all-time record level in Delhi

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Yamuna river in Delhi swelled to 207.25 metres and was flowing precariously close to the all-time record level of 207.49 metres reached in 1978, government agencies said on Wednesday. According to the Central Water Commission's (CWC) flood-monitoring portal, the water level at the Old Railway Bridge crossed the 207-metre mark at 4 am, the first time since 2013, and rose to 207.25 metres by 8 am on Wednesday. It is expected that the river will rise to 207.35 metres by 12 noon on Wednesday and continue to rise further, an official of the irrigation and flood control department said.

Delhi recorded a rapid increase in the Yamuna water level over the last three days. It shot up from 203.14 metres at 11 am on Sunday to 205.4 at 5 pm on Monday, breaching the danger mark of 205.33 metres 18 hours earlier than expected. The river had exceeded the evacuation mark of 206 metres on Monday night, prompting the relocation of people residing in flood-prone areas to safer locations and a closure of the Old Railway Bridge for road and rail traffic.

The water level of 207.25 metres is the highest since 2013 when the river reached a level of 207.32 metres, the CWC data showed. An official explained that the sharp rise in water level was due to continuous rainfall in the upper catchment areas and saturated soil from heavy precipitation in Delhi and nearby regions over the weekend. People living in low-lying areas have been shifted to safer places at higher altitudes, the department said.

It said 45 boats have been deployed for awareness, evacuation and rescue work and NGOs have been roped in to provide relief to the evacuated people. «The Old Railway Bridge has been closed for traffic. All gates of the Okhla Barrage have been opened to