Reprieve from rain, still northern States grapple with aftermath of monsoon

Even as northern Indian States experienced some relief from relentless rainfall on Friday (September 5, 2025), they continued to grapple with the aftermath of monsoon rains that have wreaked havoc across the region.

Follow the India rains highlights on September 5, 2025

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), in the 24-hour period ending 8:30 a.m., rainfall was recorded at a few places in Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, west Rajasthan, while east Rajasthan saw isolated heavy rainfall. In Punjab and Haryana, rains were observed at many places, while in Himachal, it was across most places. The IMD has predicted light to moderate rainfall at most to many places over the country’s northwest and west region during the next seven days.

Isolated heavy rainfall is very likely over west Rajasthan on September 5 and 8; Uttarakhand on September 6-7; Himachal Pradesh on September 8-9; Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi during September 8-10; Punjab on September 10; east Uttar Pradesh on September 10-11 and east Rajasthan on September 8, as per the IMD forecast on Friday.

Also Read | More rain for city, north coastal Andhra Pradesh

In Himachal Pradesh, in the past two days, under a rescue operation spearheaded by the State government, as many as 1,166 stranded ‘Manimahesh Yatra’ pilgrims were evacuated from the Bharmour area. Since June 20, following the onset of the monsoon, the hill State has so far witnessed a loss of 197 human lives, as per data from the disaster management cell of the State Revenue Department.

Relief for Punjab

Punjab Revenue Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian said with rainfall subsiding in upper hilly regions as well as in Punjab, the State had witnessed relief from floods. Also, since water level at Bhakra Dam on Sutlej river has decreased to 1678.66 feet, down almost half a foot from yesterday’s level of 1679.05 feet, it has come as a respite to the flood-hit areas.

In Punjab, 43 people have lost their lives since August 1 due to ongoing rains and floods while crops on 1.72 lakh hectares have been damaged. Several roads, low-lying areas and farmland have been inundated. The rains have left rivers Sutlej, Ravi, and Beas, flowing through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, in spate.

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who on September 4 visited flood-hit areas in Punjab, in a post on X, said the Central government stood with the people and farmers of Punjab in this hour of crisis. “We need to work in a planned manner for the reconstruction of the flood-affected areas. To bring Punjab out of this crisis, we will have to prepare short-term, medium-term, and long-term plans.”

In Delhi, the water level in the Yamuna continued to drop during the day after reaching the season’s highest on Thursday (September 4). Over 8,000 people who have been evacuated from along the banks of the river are currently lodged in tented relief camps. While there have been complaints about a lack of sanitation and access to clean water and food from those residing in the camps, Delhi Chief Minister assured people that no negligence would be tolerated and instructed officials to keep a 24X7 vigil.

In Haryana, parts of which experienced little rain, there were water-logging and flooding in a few areas. Haryana Public Works Minister Ranbir Gangwa said the State government would compensate for the crop loss caused by water-logging.

Jhelum recedes

In the Kashmir valley, water level began to recede below the danger mark in the Jhelum river on Friday and infused a sense of relief among the flood-affected populations. Hundreds of local people rushed to survey the damage inflicted on large swathes of apple orchards in Anantnag and Pulwama districts. In the periphery of Srinagar’s Lasjan, houses remain inundated in areas close to Zoonipora, where a breach was reported on Thursday night. Locals said ripe paddy fields had also been marooned in floodwaters in areas near Srinagar, Pulwama and Budgam after the breach.

Uttarakhand’s disaster management secretary Vinod Kumar Suman told media persons that the State had received unprecedented rains this season, and suffered an estimated loss of around ₹5,702 crore.

Meanwhile, the Central Water Commission on Friday warned of widespread flooding across several States, with 22 river monitoring stations reporting ‘severe flood’ situation and 23 others ‘above normal’ water levels. According to the daily flood situation report, eight stations each in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and one each in Gujarat, Delhi, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan and West Bengal have reported to be in the ‘severe flood’ category.