Heavy rain disrupted life across several states on Thursday, leaving five people dead in Uttar Pradesh, pushing the Ganga towards its highest flood mark in Bihar and triggering landslides, road closures and transport disruptions in Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal. In Uttar Pradesh, five people were killed in separate rain-related incidents in Chitrakoot, Amethi and Barabanki. In Barachhi village of Chitrakoot, a mud house collapsed, killing a 32-year-old man and his two children, aged five and one. His wife and daughter were injured. In Amethi, a 66-year-old man died after a mud wall collapsed in Naya Purwa village, while a 62-year-old man was killed and his son-in-law injured after another wall collapsed in Barabanki's Dhanouli village. The district is among 23 flood-affected districts in the state.
In Bihar, the rising Ganga prompted authorities to increase vigilance as the river was expected to approach its highest flood mark at Patna's Gandhi Ghat on Thursday night. Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary inspected water levels along JP Ganga Path and directed officials to prioritise public safety. Residents in riverbank and low-lying areas across Bhojpur, Patna, Saran, Vaishali, Nalanda, Begusarai, Lakhisarai and Jehanabad were advised to remain alert and avoid unnecessary movement near ghats and embankments.
The situation was also closely monitored in Himachal Pradesh, where heavy rain triggered landslides, waterlogging and road disruptions. Debris affected traffic on the Chandigarh-Shimla highway near Chakki Mod, while shops in Jabli near Dharampur were inundated by runoff water. Landslides in Kangra's Naddi area damaged drinking-water pipelines supplying Dharamshala. As many as 95 roads remained closed across the state, while Naina Devi in Bilaspur recorded 130.6 mm of rainfall, the highest in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday.
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West Bengal also faced flood-related concerns after the Damodar Valley Corporation issued alerts for downstream areas following water releases from the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs. The release from Maithon was reduced from 1.2 lakh cusec on Wednesday evening to 98,000 cusec by Thursday afternoon, lowering the flood risk from orange to yellow. Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Bardhaman, Bankura, Hooghly and Howrah were among the districts identified as potentially affected by the release.
Heavy rain also disrupted railway services in West Bengal after soil beneath tracks between Tilpara and New Farakka in the Eastern Railway's Howrah-Malda division was eroded. Several north Bengal-bound trains were diverted, while services including the Jogbani Express, Gour Express and Darjeeling Mail were delayed. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department forecast more rain in parts of Himachal Pradesh through September 9 and moderate rain in Delhi on Friday and Saturday, indicating continued wet conditions in several regions.
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