Three persons were killed as heavy rains lashed most parts of north India for the third consecutive day on Tuesday.

The army was called to rescue residents of some villages -- including Barwala, Natwal and Rajiv Vihar -- in Haryana's Panchkula district, which were marooned and also those living along the Ghaggar river, which was in spate.

Chandigarh received a record rainfall of over 300 mm during the past 36 hours, according to the meteorological department.

In Chandigarh, three children -- two boys and a girl -- died in rain-related incidents, police said.

Panchkula Deputy Commissioner Neelam Kasni said the situation was under control and the administration was taking all steps to provide relief.

Road traffic was badly disrupted as a portion of the Ambala-Chandigarh National Highway was washed away near the Punjab-Haryana border.

Chandigarh-bound traffic had to be diverted via Naraingarh while Ambala-bound vehicles were diverted via the Punjab side.

Traffic on the Ambala-Rajpura road had to be made one-way following a breach in the Ghaggar river.

Indian Airlines Mumbai-Delhi-Chandigarh and Jet Airways Delhi-Chandigarh-Delhi flights had to be cancelled, airline sources said.

Train services were also disrupted, railway sources said.

Water collected outside the official residence of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. Officials were busy putting sandbags to prevent the water from entering the house.

Deputy Commissioner, Chandigarh, Arun Kumar said that the administration had to distribute food packets in some areas.

An alert had been sounded as the Ghaggar river was flowing at 1.75 lakh cusecs in Chandigarh-Ambala areas as against the normal flow of less than one lakh, sources said.

A major part of Chandigarh had to go without power since early Tuesday as water had seeped into underground cables at many place.

Power breakdowns and faults in telecommunication services were also reported from many places in Punjab and Haryana.

In Himachal Pradesh, Shimla, Sundernagar, Sunni, Kasol, Kahu, Sallapar, Sujanpur Thira, Berthin, Pandoh, Bhuntar and Solan were among the places to be lashed by rains.

Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala (142.9 mm), Shahpur Kandi, Ropar and Phagwara in Punjab also received rains.