Uttarakhand rains: Death toll rises to seven; 10 people still missing

Torrential rains on Saturday triggered flash floods and landslides in the Garhwal region, mainly in Dehradun and Tehri Garhwal, forcing people to leave their damaged houses

With the recovery of a woman’s body in Gwar village of Tehri Garhwal district, and mortal remains of another in the Soda-Saroli area of Dehradun district, the death toll due to incessant rainfall and its aftermath reached 7 on Saturday – four in Tehri Garhwal, two in Dehradun and one in Pauri Garhwal.

An SDRF team engages in a search operation in Dehradun. (HT Photo)

However, 10 people are still missing, according to the state emergency operation centre.

State disaster response force (SDRF) media in-charge Lalita Negi said the body of the woman was recovered where seven members of a family were trapped under the debris of a house; four members of the family are still untraceable.

“In Dehradun’s Soda Saroli area, we recovered a body part under the bridge of the Song river,” she said.

Teams of NDRF and SDRF have been engaged in search operations in Dehradun and Tehri Garhwal districts for over 72 hours, apart from providing rations to those affected by rain-related incidents. In Dehradun, JCB, road breakers, and poclain machines have been deployed for the search operation, including sniffer dogs.

Torrential rains on Saturday triggered flash floods and landslides in the Garhwal region, mainly in Dehradun and Tehri Garhwal, forcing people to leave their damaged houses. The worst affected areas were Dehradun’s Sarkhet village, Maldevta area, and Tehri Garhwal’s Gwar village and Kirti Nagar.

Meanwhile, the IMD local centre has issued a yellow alert for Dehradun and Tehri Garhwal districts for the next two days.

According to the IMD bulletin, “heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places in Dehradun and Tehri districts of Uttarakhand on Wednesday and Thursday.”

It also warned people living near rivulets and streams to remain cautious and avoid travelling, if not necessary.

Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has instructed officials to ensure the earliest restoration of damaged routes and until then, safer passage through alternative routes.