Rajasthan records 155 pc excess rain; MeT department issues orange, yellow alert

Jaipur, Sep 11 (IANS) At a time when Rajasthan has received 155 per cent more than normal rainfall in September so far, the Meteorological (MeT) Department, on Wednesday, issued orange and yellow alerts in parts of the state predicting heavy to very heavy rain.

The MeT department issued an orange alert for cities -- Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk, Bundi, Sikar, and Jhunjhunu, and has forecast heavy rain in parts of these places on Wednesday.

Further, the department has also warned people to stay cautious while driving on underpasses, across rivers and drainages and in low-lying areas as there is the possibility of heavy water inflows due to rain.

A yellow alert was sounded in Jalore, Sirohi, Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Karauli, Baran, Alwar and Dausa.

The officials warned that people should avoid taking shelter under trees and should prefer safe places during rain and wait for rain to stop before starting their travel.

It has been raining heavily this month so far in September and the state has registered around 155 per cent higher rainfall than normal.

Rajasthan has received 96.9 mm rainfall from September 1 till September 10 which is quite higher against the normal rainfall of 37.9 mm for the same period.

Ajmer, which is witnessing heavy floods, has recorded 275 per cent higher rainfall than normal -- 140.2 mm against 37.4 mm from September 1 to September 10.

Similarly, Bhilwara has registered 264 per cent higher rainfall than the normal, and Banswara has recorded 214 per cent higher rain from September 1 to September 10 against the normal.

Even Western Rajasthan, which includes desert areas of Barmer and Jaisalmer, has received record rain -- 127 per cent higher than the normal rain.

It rained 111 per cent higher in Jaisalmer, 142 per cent in Churu, 152 per cent in Jodhpur and 163 per cent in Barmer than normal rain this season,

On Tuesday, heavy rain lashed many districts, including Banswara, Dungarpur, Pali, Jaipur, Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, Sirohi, Bhilwara, and Udaipur.

Moderate to heavy rain is expected to continue in Rajasthan till September 15, said the MeT department officials.

Overall, the state has recorded 59 per cent higher rainfall this season. The total rainfall recorded was 654 mm in Rajasthan against the normal rain of 410 mm. Jaisalmer in Western Rajasthan has registered 153 per cent higher rainfall while Dausa registered 137 per cent higher rainfall.