U’khand: Next 48 hours crucial, says weather dept

“The southwest monsoon has further advanced into remaining parts of west Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, most parts of Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi and Punjab and some parts of east Rajasthan,” a weather department forecast said. 

Heavy rain at a few places with very heavy rain at isolated places is very likely over west Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, it added.

Fourteen people have been killed in Uttarakhand and 15 others are missing after the cloudbursts on Friday morning in Pithoragarh and Chamoli districts. About 10 rivers including Mandakini and Nandakini are overflowing across the state and traffic has been disrupted on several routes due to landslides.

Next 48 hours are going to be crucial for Uttarakhand, the weather department added.

“Tonnes of debris had flowed downhill after the cloudbursts over a large area and it is difficult to ascertain where exactly the missing people are trapped,” Additional Secretary C Ravishankar said.

The national and state disaster response forces, SSB, ITBP, DMMC and police personnel are carrying out rescue operations under the supervision of District Magistrates and SPs in the affected districts, Ravishankar said.

At least half a dozen villages namely Naulda, Bastadi, Rikuniya, Sighali, Charma and Pipli in Pithoragarh district and Siro, Didihat, Jakhli, Gortansan and Kotiyal areas in Chamoli were affected by the cloudburst.

Meanwhile, the poor weather has hampered rescue and relief work which was badly hit by a cloudburst and flooding, the Army said on Saturday.

“Rain and bad weather continues to hamper rescue and relief work. Dog squads and additional medical teams are on standby, ready to be inducted as soon as the weather permits,” the Army said.

At least 14 bodies have been recovered so far from the debris in villages which were hit by rains due to the cloudburst and resultant landslide. Uttarakhand was devastated by flash floods which left 6,000 people dead three years ago.