Representative image. Photo: Photo by McKay Savage from London, UK, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Deep depression prompts red alert for Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha
A deep depression has prompted a red alert for Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Vidarbha, with the IMD warning of extremely heavy rain.
A deep depression moving across eastern India has prompted the IMD to issue a red alert for Odisha, Chhattisgarh and the Vidarbha region.
The system is currently over north interior Odisha and adjoining Gangetic West Bengal, moving west-northwestwards at about 12 kilometres per hour.
The IMD said the depression is expected to move across north Odisha, south Jharkhand and north Chhattisgarh over the next 24 hours, with heavy to very heavy rainfall likely.
Some areas under the red alert could see extremely heavy rain exceeding 204.5 millimetres, with flooding and waterlogging risks flagged by authorities.
An orange alert has been issued for Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, western Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, where heavy to very heavy rain is expected.
Rain alerts are also in place for Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar amid warnings of thunderstorms and strong winds.
The IMD has advised residents of hilly regions to be alert to landslide risk and cautioned motorists against driving through waterlogged roads.
The department said it would keep monitoring the depression and issue updated forecasts as the system moves further inland.
The IMD said in a separate press release on July 28 that monsoon rainfall over northwest and central India is likely to be normal to above normal in the coming four to five days, with the trough expected to stay close to its normal position.
Red alerts from the IMD are reserved for situations warranting immediate action, urging state disaster management authorities to prepare for potential large-scale disruption to travel, power supply and daily life.
The IMD typically classifies a weather system as a deep depression when sustained wind speeds near its centre reach between 51 and 61 kilometres per hour, one step below a full cyclonic storm in intensity.
(Image: Photo by McKay Savage from London, UK, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0)