New Delhi: Torrential rain and thunderstorms wreaked havoc across north India on Friday, claiming at least seven lives, causing widespread waterlogging, crippling traffic, and disrupting flight operations. Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, and Mathura witnessed intense rainfall in the early morning hours, inundating roads and leaving commuters stranded in massive traffic snarls.
Visuals from various parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) showed uprooted trees, flooded roads, and people wading through waterlogged streets. In Faridabad, residents were seen attempting to rescue a half-submerged car, while long queues of vehicles brought traffic to a standstill in Ghaziabad, news agency PTI reported.
VIDEO | Several cars and a portion of a house were damaged as a tree was uprooted in Delhi’s Sheikh Sarai area following heavy rainfall.
(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7)#delhirain #delhi https://t.co/5a9nMxcDZI
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 2, 2025
Tragedy struck southwest Delhi’s Najafgarh area, where a 28-year-old woman and her three children died after their house collapsed when a tree fell on it due to strong winds. According to PTI, a Delhi Fire Services official said, “We deployed multiple teams on the spot and four people were rescued from the rubble. They were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were declared dead.” The woman’s husband survived the incident.
Delhi received 77 mm of rainfall in just three hours starting around 5 am, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which issued a red alert for the capital, urging residents to remain “extremely vigilant” and take necessary precautions.
The downpour also severely affected air traffic at the Delhi airport, where over 200 flights were delayed and three were diverted—two to Jaipur and one to Ahmedabad—due to thunderstorms and gusty winds.
The Delhi Fire Services responded to nearly 100 rain-related emergency calls during the brief but intense spell. In Lutyens’ Delhi, authorities received 25 complaints of tree falls and 12 related to waterlogging. A spokesperson from Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) said it received 22 complaints of power cuts, all of which were resolved within an hour. “Electricity supply was temporarily suspended in certain areas as a precautionary measure to prevent electrocution,” the spokesperson said, as per PTI.
In Gurugram, most areas were waterlogged, forcing police and civic bodies to manage traffic and drain floodwaters. The Delhi-Gurugram Expressway, Hero Honda Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, and IFFCO Chowk witnessed severe congestion.
Lightning Strikes Killed At Least 3 People In UP
In Uttar Pradesh, lightning strikes killed at least three people and injured several others. Two of the deceased were labourers working on a Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) road project in Firozabad. Another fatal incident occurred in Etah district’s Bhagwantpur village, where a 17-year-old girl named Diksha died on the spot. Her sister Sapna suffered serious burns, and their father and brother were also injured while trying to cover a haystack with a tarpaulin sheet.
Additional lightning deaths were reported in Firozabad, where Satyendra (35) and Vishnu (25) were killed instantly while Devendra (30) was injured and hospitalised.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath instructed officials to conduct immediate relief and rescue operations. He directed district authorities to visit the affected areas, assess damage to crops and livestock, and ensure timely compensation. In urban and low-lying regions, officials were asked to expedite drainage operations.
The IMD has predicted rain and thundershowers in parts of west Uttar Pradesh on 3 and 4 May, with gusty winds reaching up to 50 km/hr. Similar conditions are expected in east Uttar Pradesh on 4 May.
Shimla, Jubbarhatti In Himachal Hit By Hailstorms & Heavy Rains
In Himachal Pradesh, the capital Shimla and nearby Jubbarhatti were hit by hailstorms and heavy rain. According to the local Met office, trees fell on three parked vehicles on the Tutikandi-ISBT road, temporarily blocking the route. Gusty winds swept through Kufri, Bilaspur, Reckong Peo, Bajura, Narkanada, and Tabo. Thunderstorms were reported in Shimla, Jubbarhatti, Sundernagar, Jot, Bhuntar, Murari Devi, and Kangra.
On Thursday night, a lightning strike razed two rooms of a slate-roofed house and destroyed property in Khandera village of Hamirpur district. Kuldeep Singh and his wife, who were asleep inside the house, were rescued by locals, officials said, as per PTI.
Rainfall data showed Solan received 49 mm since Thursday evening, followed by Bilaspur (44 mm), Ghaghas (33.8 mm), Kufri (31 mm), and Shimla (28 mm). The IMD has issued an orange alert for hailstorms at isolated places in the state, and orange and yellow alerts for thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds up to 50 km/hr until next Thursday.
The minimum temperature dropped by 2-5 degrees Celsius across Himachal, with Tabo in Lahaul and Spiti recording a low of 5.6°C. Una, however, remained the warmest at 34.4°C.
The IMD’s outlook for May suggests above-normal maximum and minimum temperatures and a higher-than-usual number of heatwave days across low hills and plains of Himachal. Above-normal rainfall is expected in most of these regions.
Parts of Punjab and Haryana also witnessed overnight rainfall and strong winds, resulting in a slight dip in temperatures. Hisar, Bathinda, and Gurdaspur reported the most precipitation, according to the local Met department.
