Heavy rains battered Chhattisgarh for the third consecutive day on Monday, submerging low-lying areas and disrupting traffic, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of extremely heavy rainfall across the State over the next 24 hours, officials said.Several rivers, including the Shivnath and Kharun, are in spate, forcing the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to remain on high alert following multiple operations to rescue stranded persons.The rains, which have been pounding the state since Saturday evening, have hit normal life in Raipur, Durg, Bhilai, Dhamtari, Gariaband and other cities, where several residential colonies and roads remained waterlogged.In Raipur, water entered houses in the low-lying areas of Tatibandh, Professor Colony, Parshuram Nagar and Fafadih, turning roads into ponds and partially submerging vehicles.Raipur Mayor Meenal Choubey visited the affected localities on Monday to assess the situation and review relief measures.Similarly, in neighbouring cities of Durg and Bhilai, heavy waterlogging caused traffic delays, with police issuing specific advisories for commuters navigating the Raipur-Durg National Highway near the Kumhari overbridge.Officials said the Shivnath River has crossed danger levels, spilling over the Mahamara anicut by nearly four feet.In response, the SDRF has increased patrols and is conducting public announcements to keep citizens away from vulnerable riverbanks, the force's Durg Commandant Nagendra Kumar Singh said.He said SDRF teams have been kept on alert and arrangements have been made to shift residents living along riverbanks to shelter homes if the water level rises further.Rescue teams successfully evacuated 14 labourers stranded in the Bagnai River in Gariaband on Sunday and another 14 workers from a construction site in Mahasamund after flash floods trapped them overnight, officials said.According to the IMD's centre in Raipur, the ongoing spell has been triggered by a depression over the northwest Bay of Bengal adjoining the north Odisha and West Bengal coasts.Under its influence, widespread rainfall accompanied by heavy to very heavy showers at several places and extremely heavy rainfall at isolated locations over central Chhattisgarh is likely during the next 24 hours, it said.The weather office has forecast extremely heavy rainfall at one or two places in Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi, Bilaspur, Raigarh, Sarangarh-Bilaigarh, Sakti, Mungeli, Korba and Janjgir-Champa districts during the next 24 hours.Heavy to very heavy rainfall is also likely in Raipur, Surguja, Jashpur, Koriya, Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur, Surajpur, Balrampur, Balodabazar, Gariaband, Dhamtari, Mahasamund, Durg, Balod, Bemetara, Kabirdham, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai, Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki and Rajnandgaon districts, it said.The IMD said rainfall intensity and its spatial distribution are likely to decrease across the state from July 8 onwards.Published on July 6, 2026