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IMD issues 'red' alert for Uttarakhand as heavy rainfall predicted on August 12-13
IMD issues 'red' alert for Uttarakhand predicting heavy rainfall for next two days; warns of flooding and landslides.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday issued a 'red' alert for Uttarakhand predicting very heavy rainfall in the state for the next two days. The weather forecasting agency said that Uttarakhand is likely to receive more than 204mm of rainfall on August 13-14. The Met department has advised the public to avoid areas prone to water logging and stay away from vulnerable structures.
It also warned that the rainfall could lead to localised flooding and landslides.
The warning comes after five pilgrims were killed due to their car getting buried in a landslide at Tarsali under Chowki Phata in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district, police said on Saturday. The dead included three devotees from Gujarat and one from Haridwar. Efforts were on to identify the fifth victim, police said.
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the first endeavour of the government was to restore normalcy in the state which was disrupted by the monsoon rains and to provide quick aid and relief to the people affected by the calamity.
“Red and orange alerts have been issued by the Meteorological Department in many districts of the state. All the residents and tourists are requested to avoid unnecessary travel,” Dhami said in a tweet.
He also undertook a ground inspection of the rain-hit Kotdwar area where a man had gone missing in a landslide a couple of days ago and several bridges were damaged, cutting off a large population from the rest of the state.
The IMD also issued an orange alert for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, saying that the states are likely to get heavy to very heavy rainfall ranging from 115.6 to 204.4 mm today.
