At least five people were missing on Thursday morning after a cloudburst struck the Nandanagar Ghat area of Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, burying several houses under debris in the Kuntri Langafali ward of the town, district magistrate said.
Nandanagar Ghat in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand is situated near the Alaknanda River.
Purported visuals showing the aftermath of the cloudburst surfaced on social media, capturing the river in spate and damages to buildings as well as roads.
“At least seven people are missing following heavy rainfall. At least 10-12 houses are said to be completely damaged... the number of damaged houses may increase. Some shops have been affected,” PTI news agency shared a video of district magistrate DM Sandeep Tiwari speaking.
{{/usCountry}}“At least seven people are missing following heavy rainfall. At least 10-12 houses are said to be completely damaged... the number of damaged houses may increase. Some shops have been affected,” PTI news agency shared a video of district magistrate DM Sandeep Tiwari speaking.
{{/usCountry}}The landslide debris destroyed half a dozen houses in Kuntri ward of Nagar Panchayat Nandanagar, the district disaster management centre said.
Seven people were inside the houses at the time of the landslide, two of whom were rescued alive, while five are still missing, it said.
SDRF, NDRF, local tehsil teams have moved to the affected areas, Tiwari said on Thursday morning.
"We are trying to open the roads using JCB. We hope the relief teams will reach the affected areas in the next 30-45 minutes. Relief centers have been identified, and we will be shifting locals to these relief centers as soon as possible," he added.
Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami also took to X and wrote about the destruction in Nandanagar Ghat area. "Heavy rainfall in the Nandan Nagar Ghat area of Chamoli district has caused damage to nearby houses. Local administration, SDRF, and police teams have reached the spot immediately and are engaged in relief and rescue operations. I am in constant contact with the administration and monitoring the situation," Dhami said in the X post.
Chamoli has been one of the worst hit by monsoon fury in Uttarakhand this year, with several cloudbursts and flashfloods having caused significant damages to the district already.
An official said earlier this month that an inter-ministerial team from the Centre will tour the worst-hit Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Pauri, Bageshwar and Nainital districts of Uttarakhand to assess the damage caused by heavy rains, cloudbursts and landslides this monsoon.
Land subsidence hit parts of Nandanagar in August with cracks appearing on the walls of houses, necessitating relocation of several people to safer areas.