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Heavy rains trigger floods, landslides in Uttarakhand
India Meteorological Department said extremely heavy rain at isolated places and heavy to very heavy rainfall in some places accompanied by thunderstorms with lightning were expected
At least two people have been killed while a family was buried under a landslide at Jogiana in Rishikesh as very heavy rains lashed Uttarakhand and triggered floods and landslides. A red alert was issued for Monday amid a forecast for more rain while the Alaknanda, Mandakini, and the Ganga were flowing over the danger mark.
State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) media in charge Lalita Negi said rescuers were facing difficulties in reaching the landslide scene in Rishikesh due to road blockages. “A Nepali national has been killed in a landslide in the Lincholi area of Rudraprayag district...”
India Meteorological Department said extremely heavy rain at isolated places (over 204.4 mm rainfall) and heavy to very heavy rainfall in some places accompanied by thunderstorms with lightning were expected.
In Pauri district’s Mori, a 55-year-old woman was washed away in the Pawar River while two houses were damaged. Two people from Jharkhand and Bihar trapped in a newly-constructed railway tunnel in Rudraprayag’s Ratuda were rescued.
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who chaired a meeting over the situation, said the Char Dham Yatra has been stopped for two days. He asked the devotees to reschedule travel plans. “Teams of SDRF and district administration are engaged in relief and rescue work. Instructions have also been given to provide proper treatment to the injured. All the officers, SDRF teams and all the teams engaged in relief and rescue have been directed to remain alert. I am also monitoring,” he said.
Around 80 people were shifted as a precautionary measure as the Ganga was flowing above the danger mark in Haridwar’s Kangri Shyampur. Dehradun Defence College partially collapsed due to heavy rains while four people trapped in a swelled stream were rescued in Bhogpur.
Two bridges and a 50-metre stretch of a road in Sol Valley were washed away, snapping its connectivity with the Chamoli district headquarters.
District disaster management officer NK Joshi said a cloud burst was reported from the Sol Valley. “An alert has been sounded and people living near the banks of a river have been asked to shift to safer places without any delay.” He said a disaster management team has been rushed to the spot to assess the damage for a report to be submitted to the district administration.
