As the weather improved in parts of north India, which was pummelled by heavy rains for days, authorities on Wednesday worked on a war footing to rescue stranded tourists, restore vehicular traffic on arterial roads and prevent floodwaters from entering new areas. In Punjab and Haryana, at least 15 people have died in rain-related incidents, according to government data.

As many as 2,000 tourists stranded in Himachal Pradesh’s Kasol were evacuated and more than 300 tourist vehicles stuck in Lahaul following landslides and flash floods left for their respective destinations, the state government said. The IMD said heavy to very heavy rainfall activity is likely to continue over Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Madhya Pradesh during the next two days and decrease thereafter.