Narrow escape for Noida family as house collapses in Hindon floods

A family in Chotpur village narrowly escaped as their house collapsed due to heavy rainfall and flooding of river Hindon. They have lost everything and are currently residing with an acquaintance. The district administration is providing relief and assistance to affected families.

Five members of a family, that includes two children, had a narrow escape after their house in Chotpur village collapsed on Tuesday in the wake of heavy rainfall and flooding of river Hindon, police said.

The remains of the collapsed house in Chotpur village . (HT Photo)

The family has been living in the single storey house near the riverbank since the past 11 years. The water level in the Hindon, at the Ghaziabad barrage, had increased significantly, flooding several low-lying villages on the riverbank in the district.

The family, which hails from Bihar, said they came to Noida around 11 years ago in search of work. Sonu Kumar Sharma, who initially worked at a private company but now drives an e-rickshaw, said the family has a loan of over ₹1 lakh to repay.

The family members said they were asleep when the house collapsed on Tuesday night. “We awoke to the loud sound of walls and ceiling cracking on Tuesday night. We also heard the sound of splashing water. I raised the alarm and we rushed out. We could only save some clothes before the house collapsed; everything else, including furniture, utensils, etc, is under the debris,” said Sonu.

“It took hardly 10 minutes for everything to come crashing down. We are currently residing with an acquaintance in Chotpur,” he said.

“We bought the house 11 years ago in Chotpur village when many others were also settling there. This is the first time that we saw floods here and the water level rose so high that it reached our house which is built at a height, compared to the other houses. The house was purchased after taking loans and, now, we have nothing left,” said Sonu, the sole breadwinner of the family.

The district administration said they are taking steps to help affected families. “Around 15 shelter homes have been established at various places for displaced people where provisions have been made for food, drinking water and medication. Once we are done with the relief and rescue, inspections will be conducted to identify families who have been similarly affected and the needful will be done,” said additional district magistrate (finance) Atul Kumar.

“There are government guidelines that allow for compensation to be provided in case of natural disaster after due verification,” the ADM said.

Floodplains surrounding the Hindon and Yamuna have been inundated since both rivers are in spate. Many areas across the district are submerged after the heavy rainfall on Wednesday.

The Gautam Budh Nagar district administration has been issuing advisories to people in low-lying areas over the past 10 days asking them to relocate to higher ground. On Wednesday, 3,137 people were evacuated from flood-hit areas in the district.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday issued a yellow alert for Delhi-NCR for the days to come.

On Thursday, the level in the Hindon, at the Ghaziabad barrage, was 199.20 metres. The danger mark of the river is 205.80 metres. At the Okhla barrage, the Yamuna level stood at 198.65 metres, while the danger mark in the river is 200.60 metres.