LIVE: Vehicles stranded at Jammu-Srinagar National Highway due to landslide

New Delhi: Most parts of India witnessed heavy rains on Thursday bringing normal life to a stand still and led to worsening of the flood situation in several states with most rivers overflowing. 

While torrential rains submerged the low-lying areas in Odisha and led snapping of electricity and road links at several places. In Uttar Pradesh, over 870 villages in 16 districts have been affected.

On Wednesday, Delhi-NCR witnessed heavy rains which caused waterlogging and disrupted traffic in several areas. 

The IMD has predicted the same spell over West Madhya Pradesh on August 21 and August 22, east Rajasthan on August 22 and Gujarat on August 22 and August 23.

Meanwhile, A fire, followed by an explosion, was reported at underground hydroelectric power station situated at Srisailam’s dam left bank canal in Nagarkurnool district of Telangana. The incident is reported to have taken place late on Thursday. Atleast nine are believed to be trapped inside the complex.

In other news, an incident of ammonia gas leak has been reported from a dairy unit in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor which has affected nearly people, all women.

Stay tuned to Zee News live blog for latest news and updates:

21 August 2020

14:25 IST

Vehicles were left stranded near Jakhani in Udhampur district at Jammu-Srinagar National Highway as landslides in Ramban sector blocked the route, following heavy rainfall in the region.

13:10 IST

Over 56.9 lakh people have been affected in 30 districts of Assam due to floods in the state, said the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) on Friday in its daily flood report. (ANI)

13:05 IST

Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya has issued an order to convene the second Vidhan Sabha session of the year 2020 from September 23, said the State Assembly Secretariat in a communique. (ANI)

12:44 IST

The ICMR is undertaking a study in Mumbai to evaluate whether the BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guerin) vaccine, primarily used against tuberculosis, is effective in preventing COVID-19 in elderly population. (PTI)

12:43 IST

Mumbai and neighbouring Thane district received widespread moderate to heavy rainfall over the 24-hour period ended at 8:30 am on Friday, an IMD official said. The trend will likely continue over the next 24 hours. (PTI) 

11:25 IST

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday predicted light to moderate rain in parts of Himachal Pradesh and said that landslides may occur in the Shimla and Solan districts. "Light to moderate rain is very likely to continue in the districts of Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur, Bilaspur, and Hamirpur. Visibility will remain less than 500 meters and there is a possibility of landslides in the Shimla and Solan districts," the IMD said. (ANI)

09:41 IST

Spike of 68,898 cases and 983 deaths reported in India, in the last 24 hours. The COVID-19 tally in the country rises to 29,05,824 including 6,92,028 active cases, 21,58,947 discharged patients and 54,849 deaths: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

08:12 IST

Three people were rescued and one reoprtedly missing after the boat they were in at East Godavari river met with an accident in Andhra Pradesh. Ambika Prasad, DSP, Special Branch says, "The boat had accidentally hit the pillar of Saberi bridge and it broke partially." (ANI)

08:09 IST

Nearly 20 people were affected after an ammonia gas leaked in Hatson dairy unit at M. Bandapalli village near Puthalapattu at Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh on Thursday night. Reportedly, all the workers affected in the incident are females. Read more here

08:08 IST

A fire, followed by an explosion, was reported at underground hydroelectric power station situated at Srisailam’s dam left bank canal in Nagarkurnool district of Telangana. The incident is reported to have taken place late on Thursday. Read more here

08:03 IST

The IMD predicts thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain would occur over and adjoining areas of Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Karnal, Kaithal, Jind, Kurukshetra, Deoband, Yamunanagar during next 2 hours.