IMD issues orange alert for heavy rains in MP, Nagpur rail traffic affected

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday issued an orange alert warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Narmadapuram division of Madhya Pradesh, where railway tracks were inundated, affecting the movement of trains.

The orange alert warned that heavy to very heavy rainfall, ranging between 64.5 to 204 mm, is likely to lash isolated places of the Narmadapurman division, which comprises Narmadapuram, Harda and Betul districts.

The IMD has also issued two yellow alerts forecasting likely heavy rains at isolated places in 21 districts, including Bhopal and Jabalpur, and thunderstorms with lightning in eight divisions, including Bhopal and Indore.

The alerts are valid till Saturday morning.

According to officials, rail traffic to Nagpur in neighbouring Maharashtra was affected after water gushed onto the tracks in the Kiratgarh-Betul section of Nagpur division of the Central Railways, as a result of the downpour.

Some trains heading towards Nagpur were either stopped at Itarsi and Hoshangabad stations in Narmadapuram district or diverted, they said.

A MEMU train from Amla in Betul district to Itarsi in Narmadapuram and vice versa were cancelled on Friday, they said.

As per the IMD data, Pachmarhi, the lone hill station of Madhya Pradesh, Ujjain, Indore, Bhopal and Jabalpur received 68.2 mm, 48.0 mm, 30.4 mm, 10.4 mm and 3.5 mm rainfall respectively in 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Friday.

Several other districts of the state also received showers, it stated.

The rainfall activities are likely to abate in western Madhya Pradesh, as the low-pressure area over coastal Odisha has weakened slightly, said Ved Prakash Singh, senior meteorologist at IMD's Bhopal office.

However, the rainfall in eastern parts of the state is expected to increase due to a well-marked low area over northeast Arabian Sea, he said.

As a result of these factors, the state will continue to receive rainfall for the next five days. Bundelkhand and Vindhya regions are expected to receive good showers after July 19, Singh said.