E-Paper
Widespread rainfall to continue in J&K, Himachal and Uttarakhand till July 30
The IMD alert followed a cloudburst in Kishtwar district in Jammu region early on Wednesday that claimed the lives of at least seven people while many are reported to be missing.
The extreme weather conditions in Jammu and Kashmir and northern hill states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh will continue till July 30, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted in its afternoon bulletin on Wednesday.
“[The] current spell of widespread rainfall activity with isolated heavy to very heavy falls is very likely to continue over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh till July 30,” the IMD said.
The bulletin has, however, predicted that the weather condition will improve thereafter.
The IMD alert followed a cloudburst in Kishtwar district in Jammu region early on Wednesday that claimed the lives of at least seven people while many are reported to be missing. A police control room official has put the initial number of missing people at 28.
The cloudburst occurred over Honjar village in Kishtwar’s Dacchan area around 4am on Wednesday. As many as 17 persons have been rescued so far, of which, five are critically injured. “The rescue operation is on,” additional DGP Mukesh Singh said.
Also Read | Seven dead, 17 rescued after cloudburst in Jammu’s Kishtwar district
Such extreme weather conditions due to heavy rainfall led to rising water level at Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district. On Wednesday, deputy commissioner of Ramban district took to Twitter to alert people about the swelling river. “River Chenab is flowing far higher than its normal water level. People are advised not to venture anywhere near riverbanks of all water bodies in district Ramban,” the tweet read.
In another tweet, the commissioner mentioned that a team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) arrived in Ramban district on Wednesday and initiated a rescue operation for missing persons after a vehicle they were travelling in “rolled down into River Chenab near Mehar” on July 26.
Meanwhile, flash floods triggered by yet another cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh has so far led to nine fatalities while seven were reported missing, news agency ANI reported citing Disaster Management Authority.
Flash floods and rain-triggered landslides have been occurring in several places of Himachal Pradesh. An incident of flash flood was reported in Keylong village due to which the Leh-Manali highway was closed. Furthermore, the Kullu-Manali highway remains closed at multiple spots owing to landslides. District authorities earlier rescued as many as 70 people stranded at Chitkul in Kinnaur after nine people died on Sunday when boulders rolled down on the valley.
In Uttarakhand too, the water level of Ganga in Gangotri rose significantly due to heavy rainfall and after parts of a mountain near the Gangotri Dham fell into the waterbody, district administration told ANI on Wednesday.
Also Read | Heavy to extremely heavy rain likely over Uttarakhand and northwest UP today
According to IMD’s afternoon bulletin, Uttarakhand is expected to receive “extremely heavy rainfall” at isolated places on Wednesday and Thursday while Himachal Pradesh would witness heavy rainfall throughout the day today.
The department stated a well-marked low-pressure area lies over coastal Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal, and it is likely to move westwards across West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar during next 48 hours. A cyclonic circulation also lies over north Pakistan and adjoining Punjab in the lower levels.
