Heavy rains in Uttarakhand, Himachal; 50 die, many stranded
Incessant rains in Uttarakhand and Himachal have left 50 people dead and thousands stranded. Worst hit areas in Uttarakhand are Uttarkashi, Tehri, Haridwar, and Dehradun. Indian army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police has been put on alert
June 18, 2013 / 11:46 IST
At least 50 people have died in heavy rains that have lashed several parts of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Thirty people perished in the monsoon mayhem in Uttarakhand alone while many more are still missing.
It has been raining for over 48 hours and among the worst hit districts are Uttarkashi, Tehri, Haridwar and Dehradun in Uttarakhand. Telecom lines are down and the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) have been put on high alert.Also read: Monsoon rains cover India early, boost crop hopesAround 57,000 pilgrims have been stuck in different parts of the state, mostly along the Char Dham route while the Hemkund pilgrimage has also been put on hold. Seven people went missing and a chopper and four vehicles were swept away as heavy rains continue to lash the state, Disaster Management authorities said.
Rudraprayag bore the brunt of the disaster accounting for 20 casualties, they said adding two persons each were killed in Chamoli, Tehri and Uttarkashi districts, three in Dehradun and one in Almora. A large number of structures including shrines, hotels, rest houses, commercial and residential buildings collapsed like a pack of cards in Rudraparayag district.Seventy-three houses were totally damaged in Rudraprayag, 60 in Pithoragarh, 19 in Uttarkashi, 10 in Dehradun and one each in Tehri and Bageshwar. Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, who took information from District Magistrates on the extent of damage caused by the flashfloods through video conferencing, expressed grief at the loss of lives in the calamity describing it as a "huge" one.Rescue operations were going on a war-footing with the help of ITBP, BSF and the Army but bad weather was proving a hindrance, he said. Chardham and Mansarovar pilgrimages, suspended following torrential rains, would be resumed as soon as the weather improves, Bahuguna said.In Himachal Pradesh, a high alert was sounded and army assistance was sought for rescue operations in the tribal border district of Kinnaur as incessant rains and snow wreaked havoc in the region, killing 10 people and damaging property worth crores of rupees. Five members of a family, including three children, were buried alive when boulders fell on their house while five others were killed in landslides in three other places.Kinnaur district was cut off from the state from Tapri onwards as most of the approach roads and Hindustan-Tibet National highway was blocked at several places due landslides and about 1,700 people were stranded. Over 700 people, including Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh who was campaigning in the area for Mandi Lok Sabha by-poll slated for June 23, were stranded in the Sangla valley and assistance of army has been sought for rescue operations and airlifting them, state Chief Secretary S Roy said."The Election Commission has given permission for evacuation of the chief minister by a state chopper but it could not land due to bad weather and returned," he said. About 25 foreigners and a Doordarshan team were also stranded in Kinnaur district.The disaster management cell of the army has been informed and it has already started preparations for launching the rescue operations in coordination with IAF and Army.
Arriving almost a fortnight in advance than its usual date, the southwest monsoon brought heavy rains in several parts of Haryana; particularly Yamunanagar district, where normal life was paralysed. Fifty-two people were rescued by the Army and NDRF as several parts were flooded after Yamuna river's level rose alarmingly, prompting the authorities to sound an alert.
One hundred and fifty residents of the village Shergarh Tapu and 42 of Chandrao in district Karnal, who were also stranded due to floods, were also successfully got evacuated, officials said. Heavy showers in the national capital for the second consecutive day caused water-logging and traffic chaos in various parts.According to the MeT department, Delhi received 17.1 mm rains from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm. Earlier, during the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 am, rain gauges measured 58.5 mm. The city had received 36.6 mm of rains till 5.30 pm on Sunday which were the first monsoon showers of the season.The day temperature in the national temperature dropped sharply today settling at 30.3 deg C which was nine notches below normal while the minimum temperature remained five notches below normal at 23.5 deg c.With inputs from PTI
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