Bhopal, Jul 16 (IANS): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday issued an orange alert warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Narmadapuram division of Madhya Pradesh.

This area has already received heavy rain, where railway tracks were inundated, affecting the movement of trains.

The department has warned that heavy to very heavy rainfall, ranging between 64.5 to 204 mm, is likely to lash isolated places of the Narmadapuram division, which comprises Narmadapuram, Harda and Betul districts.

It has also issued two yellow alerts forecasting likely heavy rains at isolated places in 21 districts, including Bhopal and Jabalpur, and thunderstorms with lightning in eight divisions, including Bhopal and Indore.

Due to heavy rain for the last three days, rail traffic to Nagpur in neighbouring Maharashtra was affected after water covered the tracks in the Kiratgarh-Betul section of Nagpur division of the Central Railways.

Some trains heading towards Nagpur were either stopped at Itarsi and Hoshangabad stations in Narmadapuram district or diverted, officials said.

Senior meteorologist at IMD's Bhopal office, Ved Prakash Singh said that the rainfall activities are likely to abate in western Madhya Pradesh, as the low-pressure area over coastal Odisha has weakened slightly.

However, the rainfall in eastern parts of the state is expected to increase due to a well-marked low area over northeast Arabian Sea, he added.