Yamuna in Delhi crosses danger mark, relief camps opened

The Yamuna River in Delhi surged past the official danger mark early Tuesday, prompting authorities to open relief camps, suspend traffic on a key bridge and warn thousands living on floodplains to move to safer ground. At about 6 to 8 a.m. on September 2 the water level at the Old Railway Bridge was recorded at roughly 205.7 to 205.8 metres, above the danger threshold of 205.33 metres, officials said, and the Central Water Commission warned the river could reach the evacuation level of 206 metres by evening.

Officials and flood-room staff attributed the sudden rise to large volumes released from upstream barrages and continued heavy monsoon rainfall. A central flood-room official said the increase was mostly driven by high hourly discharges from the Hathnikund and Wazirabad barrages, with Okhla also contributing; the precise hourly discharge figures varied between bulletins as releases changed, but agencies reported Hathnikund releases well into six figures of cusecs and substantial flows from Wazirabad and Okhla. Flood control authorities noted that water released upstream typically takes about 48 to 50 hours to reach the capital, so current inflows were expected to push...