Heavy rainfall triggered a cloudburst in Uttarakhand's Dehradun on Tuesday morning, following which, Tamsa river swelled up. The India Meteorological Department issued a red alert warning for Dehradun and Tehri Garhwal till 9 am.
Scary visuals from Dehradun show Tamsa river in spate and Tapkeshwar Mahadev temple inundated after heavy rainfall.
According to the temple priest Acharya Bipin Joshi, the river started flowing heavily since around 5 am, following which, the entire temple premises were submerged. He also advised people to avoid going near rivers in such a weather.
“This kind of situation had not taken place in a very long time... Losses have been incurred at various places... People should avoid going near rivers at this time... The sanctum sanctorum of the temple is safe... No human loss has been reported as of now,” news agency ANI quoted Joshi as saying.
Due to the heavy flow of the river, debris has accumulated in the temple's shivalinga complex, and there has been a lot of damage in the temple premises, ANI reported.
{{/usCountry}}Due to the heavy flow of the river, debris has accumulated in the temple's shivalinga complex, and there has been a lot of damage in the temple premises, ANI reported.
{{/usCountry}}Several shops in Dehradun have also beein destroyed due to incessant rainfall. Rescue teams including state disaster relief force, and police have reached the scene and are engaging in relief and rescue operations, said Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
Dhami posted on X (formerly Twitter) in Hindi which loosely translates to, “Sad news has been received of damage to some shops due to the heavy downpour late at night in Dehradun. The district administration, SDRF, and police have reached the spot and are engaged in relief and rescue operations. I am in constant touch with the local administration regarding this matter and am personally monitoring the situation. I pray to God for everyone’s safety.”
Under the red alert, Dehradun is likely to witness heavy rainfall of over 15 mm per hour, along with thunderstorm with gusty winds speeding up to 62-87 kmph.
Cloudbursts are not uncommonly reported during monsoons in hilly areas such as Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. On Saturday, at least 10 vehicles were buried under debris, and crops were damaged due to a flash flood triggered by cloudburst in Namhol, Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh.
In August, several people died after a massive cloudburst triggered a flash flood in the Kheer Ganga river, causing large-scale destruction in Uttarakhand’s Dharali village. Eyewitnesses and officials had described the incident as reminiscent of the 2021 Chamoli disaster, in which more than 200 people had died.