How India's Capital Came To A Standstill As A Violent Storm Hit Delhi, Thousands Stranded

While those at home enjoyed how Delhi's weather changed from a piping hot heat bowl to thunderous evening, many who were outside their houses, stuck in traffic jams or at the airport were the ones who endured real horror.

Apocalypse now! 5 PM Delhi and it's dark ... like some Superhero or an Apocalypse movie. Scary!#DelhiStorm pic.twitter.com/PPFivJj4n6

¡ª RahulG (@RahulGaur) May 13, 2018

Last night, Delhi saw massive dust storm that made people in open areas run for shelter as trees swayed and fell at every nook and corner. When the weather office said that the wind speed was recorded between 50 and 70 km per hour, it wasn't hidden from anyone that a major catastrophe was on its way.

That said, amongst things that were affected adversely, flight operations at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International were at the forefront. Many flights flying in and out of the capital's airport were cancelled, redirected to other airports or delayed for hours.

As passengers share, their flights hovered over the airport for long hours before they finally landed or were redirected to nearby cities like Amritsar and Lucknow. That said, the passengers who were deboarded in a different destination than desired were stranded with no information on how and when they will make it to their destination.

1.

There's a serious air traffic build up at IGI airport with at least a dozen planes hovering around in a holding pattern, not able to land due to #DelhiStorm pic.twitter.com/ditT07eKqt

¡ª ShankhNaad (@ShankhNaad) May 13, 2018

2.

Hey @IndiGo6E have been stuck in Delhi airport for close to 6 hours now. I appreciate that #DelhiStorm is not your fault but please be honest if your flights not gonna take off soon. Let passengers go home to sleep and reschedule

¡ª SANJAY HEGDE (@sanjayuvacha) May 13, 2018

3.

Scene inside Terminal 2 of Delhi Airport after flights got cancelled / delayed due to #DelhiStorm pic.twitter.com/KCQ7gJaenU

¡ª Prema Sridevi (@premasridevi) May 14, 2018

4.

It was surprising to see the apathy of security and @DelhiAirport authorities in helping stranded passengers whose flights were canceled. They were just putting all responsibility on the airlines (@IndiGo6E in my case). Pathetic display of professionalism #DelhiStorm

¡ª Darshan Bheda (@darshanbheda) May 13, 2018

5.

and they can't manage to get them a seat in the next flight. My brother has his admission counseling scheduled today at 8AM which he is now going go miss courtesy of this inefficient airline. [3/4] @SRM_Univ #DelhiStorm

¡ª Ruiya Tyagi (@RuiyaTyagi) May 13, 2018

6.

Landed back in Hyderabad. Kudos to @airindiain for not cancelling flight like other airlines and getting us to our destination though by a delay of 4 hrs.We can't really blame u for the bad weather at delhi.
Thanks once again!#duststorm #DelhiStorm

¡ª *anupama* (@april_summer123) May 13, 2018

7.

Descent in Darkness ! Japan Airlines Boeing 787 on approach to Delhi airport on a stormy Sunday evening. #DelhiStorm @DelhiAirport @JAL_Official_jp #AvGeek pic.twitter.com/gN8vFx7E3U

¡ª aneesh phadnis (@aneeshp) May 13, 2018

8.

The A380 Singapore Airlines SQ406 is probably heading for Mumbai. That's the only other airport in India that can land a plane this size, so it has no other option. #DelhiStorm @flightradar24 pic.twitter.com/8aLuDiRHjv

¡ª ?? ^o-o^ ?? (@sandeeproy1) May 13, 2018

9.

Pic of Lucknow airport taken at 8PM. Many flights including those scheduled for Delhi were diverted/cancelled. #DelhiStorm pic.twitter.com/7CinSYRV6W

¡ª Anand Prakash Pandey (@anandprakash7) May 13, 2018

We have lost at least 60 people in yesterday's storm. While we can't really do anything to slow down the raging storms, the least we can do is stay inside and be safe.