Guwahati: The city experienced record-breaking April rainfall over the last 24 hours till Monday morning, with multiple thunderstorms and nine hours of non-stop rain triggering severe artificial flooding in several areas from Sunday night and bringing life to a standstill.IMD data showed Guwahati received 117.4 mm of rain from 8.30am on April 19 to 8.30am on April 20, the highest one-day April rainfall on record for the city. The previous record was 116.5 mm in 24 hours on April 6, 2004.Flooding began around 9pm on Sunday as rainfall intensified instead of easing, leaving large parts of the city, especially low-lying areas, waterlogged and traffic disrupted. “A strong cloud mass over the city and nearby areas built up on Sunday evening resulted in heavy to extremely heavy rainfall,” said a Met department official.A senior IMD official said, “Multiple thunderstorms accompanied by rain were the main cause of such an inundation in Guwahati. But there was the presence of two other meteorological systems — one trough up to Manipur and a cyclonic circulation over northeast Bangladesh. These were temporary phenomena, but the impact was devastating.”IMD records showed thunderstorms began at 6.30pm on Sunday and continued until 3.30 am on Monday. Officials said an east-west trough extending from a cyclonic circulation over East Uttar Pradesh to Manipur, passing across Bihar and northern parts of Gangetic West Bengal, along with a cyclonic circulation over northeast Bangladesh at 0.9 km above mean sea level, contributed to the intense spell.IMD forecast predicted inclement weather over Assam for the next 2-3 days, with heavy to very heavy rainfall likely in different parts of the state. Rainfall readings from April 20 showed high totals across stations in and around Guwahati — 117.4 mm at Guwahati Airport, 126.5 mm at Guwahati (City), 119.5 mm at AAU-HRS, 134 mm at Gauhati University and 215.9 mm at SIRD Complex, Khanapara. Officials said the figures indicate widespread, intense rainfall activity that could continue.
