The Yamuna river, which has been flowing above the danger mark for the last couple of days, broke all records on Wednesday. Latest reports say that the development has forced the authorities to impose Section 144 in the flood-prone areas near the river in Delhi. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal held an emergency meeting in view of the situation. After the meeting, Kejriwal tweeted a circular that gave details of Yamuna’s current level and the forecast in next 48 hours. “Not good news for Delhi,” Kejriwal said. He blamed Haryana for abnormal high volumes of water.

On Wednesday at around 1pm, Yamuna rose to 207.55 metres. The last all-time high record was 207.49, which Delhi saw in the year 1978. Delhi Traffic Police has also issued special advisory for the people.

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Authorities have been relocating those living near the river since Monday when Yamuna touched the evacuation mark of 206 metres on Monday. Authorities have also closed the vehicular movement as well as rail services at Old Railway Bridge. The irrigation and flood control department says that the situation will worsen as Yamuna is likely to rise further. Delhi water minister Saurabh Bharadwaj says that the government is taking all measure to tackle the situation. He also added that the government is fully prepared to deal with the flood issue.

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The minister said that the government is constructing embankments in the low-lying areas. This is being done to stop the floodwater entering other parts of the national capital in case the river level rises further.

Past records show that Delhi has witnessed floods in 1924, 1977, 1978, 1995, 2010, and 2013 so far. Data of flood from 1963 to 2010 shows that Delhi has been experiencing flood or flood-like situation in the month of September. There has been a decreasing trend in the month of July, a study says.