At least 3 dead as heavy showers flood parts of Ghaziabad, Noida

At least three people, including a three-year-old girl, died as heavy rains lashed Ghaziabad and Noida on Thursday, submerging large parts of the region and resulting in massive snarls

At least three people, including a three-year-old girl, died as heavy rains lashed Ghaziabad and Noida on Thursday, submerging large parts of the region and resulting in massive snarls.

In Ghaziabad, heavy waterlogging persisted on major roads near Lal Kuan, Ambedkar Road, Delhi-Meerut Expressway, National Highway – 9. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

In Ghaziabad’s Sarvodaya Nagar, the body of the three-year-old was found facedown in the water and it is suspected she slipped and drowned in rainwater that had accumulated in the locality, police said.

“Locals and girls’ families protested after the incident. The rainwater also entered her house,” Upasana Pandey, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Vijay Nagar, told HT.

Speaking to HT, her uncle Anuj Kumar said, “She went out in the afternoon, and probably slipped in stagnant water. There was about 2-3 feet of water logged in our locality. After some time, we noticed her face down and pulled her out, rushing her to the hospital. But they declared her dead.”

Separately, in the Indirapuram area’s Gyan Khand, a 24-year-old guard, identified as Bablu Kumar, allegedly died after being electrocuted while crossing a park near the private office where he worked.

“It is suspected that the man died of electrocution amid heavy rain. Police sent the body for autopsy,” ACP (Indirapuram) Abhishek Srivastava told HT.

“He worked as a guard at a private office nearby and was crossing the park when the electricity hit him. We took him to a hospital, but he was declared dead,” said his sister-in-law Parvati Devi.

Also, a man’s body was recovered from a drain adjacent to Delhi-Saharanpur Road after he allegedly fell. It is suspected that he did not see the drain on the heavily waterlogged road. His identity has yet to be established, police said.

Across Delhi-NCR, it rained nearly continuously from late Wednesday night until mid-afternoon on Thursday.

According to the official 24-hour average data by the India Meteorological Department, Ghaziabad recorded 134mm and 164mm of rain at the Hindon and Kamla Nehru Nagar stations between 8.30am on Wednesday till 8.30am on Thursday.

According to IMD, Gautam Budh Nagar received 62mm rainfall in the same period.

Experts said the heavy downpour was caused by a low pressure area reaching Delhi. “It travelled from the Bay of Bengal to western Uttar Pradesh during the early morning hours, bringing rain,” said amateur meteorologist Navdeep Dahiya.

The Ghaziabad district administration on Thursday declared a holiday for all schools on Friday.

“A holiday is declared for all (affiliated to CBSE/ICSE or other boards) schools for July 10 in wake of weather conditions. All concerned should ensure full compliance with the order,” the Ghaziabad district administration said in a statement on Thursday.

In Ghaziabad, heavy waterlogging persisted on major roads near Lal Kuan, Ambedkar Road, Delhi-Meerut Expressway, National Highway – 9, and in other localities like Vijay Nagar, Shalimar Garden, Sahibabad, Gandhi Nagar, Raj Nagar, Crossing Republik, and Raj Nagar Extension.

In Noida, the situation was particularly severe in sectors 19, 82, 63, 51, 34, 122, 134 and 37, where residents said several internal roads were submerged

Residents questioned monsoon preparedness across the region as it triggered widespread waterlogging, uprooted trees, and caused drains to overflow.

“Like last year, dirty water has entered nearby houses again this year. Due to continuous rain since morning, the water level in the drain has risen and started backflowing through internal drains located at a lower level,” said RC Gupta, president of the Noida Sector 19 RWA.

“Seeing the state of affairs and risk involved, I immediately decided to take leave from my office. There was 2-3 feet water on internal and external roads as commuting became very difficult,” said Ghaziabad resident Kuldeep Saxena.

Noida Authority officials said teams had been deployed across the city to address complaints.

“We are visiting every sector where complaints have been received and are working to clear the water,” said Ashok Verma, senior manager, Noida Jal Department.

At least 10-15 trees also toppled over. “Teams are working to remove them from the roads,” said Anand Mohan Singh, deputy director (horticulture), Noida Authority.

KP Anand, the general manager of the water works department, Ghaziabad municipal corporation, told HT that the civic agency deployed pumps to flush out water at 55 different low-lying, waterlogging-prone areas.

“Our teams are working round the clock to flush out water and also attend to calls that we received during Wednesday and Thursday,” Anand added.

Clean air

Due to heavy rainfall, the air quality index of Ghaziabad improved considerably and stood under “good” quality at 49 and 50 on July 8 and 9, respectively, as per the figures of the CPCB’s Sameer app.

The data revealed that last time the city experienced “good” air was on September 2, 2025 when AQI was recorded as 48.

The Capital saw its cleanest air in nearly three years on Thursday as it continued to rain for another day, recording a 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) of 48 in the good category, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)’s 4pm bulletin.

The city has not recorded a “good” air day since September 10, 2023.