Heavy rains in India kill more than 20

• Schools in New Delhi closed after heavy rains in national capital.
• Floods and landslides cause most casualties in multiple states.
• Rescue personnel evacuate people trapped in houses.

At least 22 people were reported dead as the torrential monsoon rains lashed northern India, causing landslides and flash floods in the region, authorities and local media said on Monday.

New Delhi schools were closed considering the threat posed by the heavy rains, while people in the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand were advised not to venture out of their homes unnecessarily.

The casualties from floods and landslides were reported from the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab, as well as Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on Sunday.

In the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, flash floods over the weekend brought down a bridge and swept away several hutments. Authorities used helicopters to rescue people stranded on roads and bridges because of the rain, footage from Reuters partner ANI showed.

Streets across the northern states, including in Punjab, Delhi and Uttarakhand were flooded. In some areas, rescue personnel used rubber rafts to rescue people stranded inside their homes, local media said.

"Please stay inside your homes because more heavy rain is expected in the next 24 hours," Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said in an appeal on social media late on Sunday.

Many districts in Himachal Pradesh received a month’s rainfall in a day at the weekend, said a senior weather department official.

Delhi, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh have received 112%, 100% and 70% more rainfall than average so far in the current monsoon season that started on June 1, according to the department.