Cloudburst, landslides hit Uttarakhand; 4 dead, many families feared buried

At least four people lost their lives and three are reported missing after heavy rainfall and multiple cloudbursts triggered devastating landslides across several districts of Uttarakhand early Friday stated officials from the hilly state The calamity has left 30ndash40 families trapped under debris with extensive damage to homes and infrastructure reported PTIThe Chamoli Rudraprayag Tehri and Bageshwar have been among the worstaffected districtsAccording to the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority USDMA overnight torrential rains damaged several houses in the Pausari Gram Panchayat area under Kapkot block of Bageshwar district Two people were killed and three others went missing Two bodies have been recovered so far reported PTIIn the Mopata village of Chamoli district a house and a cowshed were buried under landslide debris killing a couple and injuring another person Chief Development Officer Abhishek Tripathi informedIn Rudraprayagrsquos Basukedaar area continuous rain and landslides have severely affected more than half a dozen villages The USDMA reported that 30ndash40 families may be trapped under debris and floodwaters in Taljaman villageRudraprayag Superintendent of Police Akshay Prahlad Konde said ldquoThere is information about four locals and as many Nepalis getting trapped under debris in Chenagad area With the road broken at 78 places rescue teams are facing difficulties in reaching the placerdquoA house has been damaged in Syur village and a car parked on the road was washed away in the landslide Ravines on both sides of Badeth Bagaddhar and Taljamani villages are overflowingChief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in a post on X stated ldquoSad news has been received about some families being stranded due to debris falling in the wake of cloudbursts in Badeth Dungar under Tehsil Basukedaar area of Rudraprayag district and Dewal area of Chamoli districtrdquoldquoRelief and rescue work is going on on a war footing by the local administration I am constantly in touch with the officials in this regard I have spoken to the Disaster Secretary and District Magistrates and given necessary instructions for effective conduct of rescue operationsrdquo he said adding ldquoI pray to Baba Kedar for everyones safetyrdquoThe Chief Minister held a video conference with the respective district magistrates and instructed them to speed up relief and rescue operations Teams from NDRF SDRF DDRF and revenue police have been deployed to the affected areasIn Tehri districtrsquos Budha Kedar region cloudbursts have destroyed livestock sheds and temples In Genwali village of Ghansali area landslides hit a toilet and the courtyard of a houseThe security wall built by the irrigation department after last years disaster was also washed away due to the heavy flow of debris Continuous rainfall has led to rivers like Balganga Dharmganga and Bhilangana flowing above danger levels causing panic among residentsLocal crops havenrsquot been spared either Kirti Singh Rana former village head of Genwali said that potato fields have been buried under rubble Fortunately there has been no report of loss of life in this areaThe Alaknanda its tributaries and the Mandakini River are swelling owing to relentless rain Police have been making announcements to alert people living on riverbanksThe Badrinath National Highway remains blocked at several locations in ChamoliNandprayag Kameda Bhanerpani Pagalnala Jilasoo Gulabkoti and Chatwapipal In Rudraprayag the highway is closed at Sirobgadh while the Kedarnath highway is blocked at four locations between Banswara Syalsaur and Kund to ChoptaThe administration said efforts are ongoing to clear the roads and pilgrims have been advised to check for travel updates and road conditions before proceeding on their journeysThe India Meteorological Department IMD has issued a red alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in Bageshwar Chamoli Dehradun and Rudraprayag over the next 24 hours reported PTI An orange alert has also been issued for Champawat Haridwar Pithoragarh Udham Singh Nagar and UttarkashiUttarakhand continues to reel under a series of natural disasters this monsoon A devastating flash flood in the Kheer Ganga river on August 5 washed away half of Dharalimdasha key halt on the route to Gangotri Several hotels and homestays were destroyed The nearby Harsil area home to an Army camp was also severely impacted giving victims barely any time to escapeAs per official data 69 people went missing in that incident mdash including nine Army personnel 25 Nepali nationals 13 from Bihar six from Uttar Pradesh eight from Dharali five from nearby areas of Uttarkashi two from Tehri and one from RajasthanWith PTI inputs