Water surges in Delhi's Yamuna river after heavy rain, crosses warning level mark in Hindon

The Delhi government has made announcements for people to vacate the floodplains when the Yamuna's warning mark is crossed.

Water levels in the Yamuna and Hindon rivers continued to rise in Delhi-NCR on Saturday following days of rain in the region and upstream areas. Officials, however, stressed that there was no immediate threat of flooding.

At the Yamuna’s monitoring point at Delhi’s Old Railway Bridge, the water level reached 204.06 metres at 8pm, just 44cm below the warning mark of 204.50 metres. Meanwhile, the Hindon crossed its warning level of 195.76 metres at 8pm at the river’s Noida base station. (HT Photo/Sanchit Khanna)

At the Yamuna’s monitoring point at Delhi’s Old Railway Bridge, the water level reached 204.06 metres at 8pm, just 44cm below the warning mark of 204.50 metres. Meanwhile, the Hindon crossed its warning level of 195.76 metres at 8pm at the river’s Noida base station.

Both rivers have been showing a rising trend over the past few days, with further increases possible if rainfall continues in the upper catchment areas. However, forecasts indicate that the Yamuna is not expected to reach flood levels over the next seven days and is likely to remain around 204.5 metres.

Announcements for residents to vacate

The danger mark for the Yamuna at the Old Railway Bridge is 205.33 metres. Authorities begin making announcements asking people to vacate the floodplains when the river reaches the danger mark, while the process of shifting people from vulnerable areas to safer locations begins at 206 metres.

A senior official from Delhi government’s irrigation and flood control department said the rise was linked to increased discharge upstream.

“The water takes two days to reach Delhi from Yamunanagar in Haryana. The level started rising Tuesday onwards, but the situation is well under control. The high flow will cleanse the river. The water level is likely to stabilise after the spike. There is no flooding risk at the moment,” the official said.

The rise follows increased discharge from Hathnikund barrage after heavy rainfall in the river’s upper catchment. Water released from the barrage generally takes around 48 to 50 hours to reach Delhi, meaning upstream rainfall and discharge can continue to influence the river level in the Capital for several days.

Officials said departments concerned were keeping a close watch on the rivers and adjoining low-lying areas. No flood warning has been issued so far.