More than 20 dead amid torrential rains, flash floods in India

More than 20 people were killed in floods and landslides triggered by monsoon rains that battered northern India, officials said on Monday.

Horrifying scenes of roads submerged in knee-deep water were seen in New Delhi as the capital received the highest — 153 millimetres — rainfall in four decades.

As the city braces for more showers for at least another day, the authorities ordered the schools shut.

Meanwhile, the casualties from floods and landslides were reported from six northern states, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab, as well as Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on Sunday.

The hilly states were the worst affected, as six people were reported dead in Himachal Pradesh alone, where landslides blocked about 700 roads, Omkar Sharma, a disaster management official, told AFP.

Meanwhile, a video shared by ANI showed the floodwater sweeping down a bridge and several hutments in the state. The rescue teams used helicopters to lift people stranded on roads and bridges as rain paralysed routine life.

The authorities have advised the people to stay home unless it is necessary to go out

"Please stay inside your homes because more heavy rain is expected in the next 24 hours," Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said in an appeal on social media late on Sunday.

India's meteorological department has forecast more rain across large parts of northern India in the coming days.

Official data shows monsoon rains across the country in the first week of July have already produced about two percent more rainfall than normal.

The summer monsoon brings South Asia 70-80 percent of its annual rainfall, as well as death and destruction due to flooding and landslides.

The rainfall is hard to forecast and varies considerably, but scientists say climate change is making the monsoon stronger and more erratic.

Additional input from agencies.