Uttarakhand weather update: As many as 60 people were trapped in their houses after heavy rainfall caused waterlogging and disrupted normal life in Uttarakhand's Udham Singh Nagar, officials said today (August 23).
According to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the SDRF team received information late Tuesday (August 22) night from Tehsildar, Kashipur that several residents living in Udham Singh Nagar's Kashipur area had been trapped in their houses due to severe waterlogging.
Subsequently, the SDRF team immediately left for the spot with rafts and other rescue equipment to conduct relief and rescue operations in the Kashipur area.
"Taking prompt action by the SDRF rescue team, relief and rescue work was started on the spot in the pitch darkness of the night itself and about 60 people trapped in the submerged houses were rescued with the help of rafts and brought to a safe place under extremely adverse conditions," said officials.
The officials also said that residents of the waterlogged area had been provided accommodations at a nearby local primary school. Amid a red alert for heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand, district magistrates have been urged to take precautions in their respective districts.
River drains are in spate in many districts of Uttarakhand, due to heavy rains since Monday night. Pauri's Senior Superintendant of Police (SSP) Shweta Choubey has appealed to people to get information about the weather and routes before travelling. She said that due to heavy rains, the river drains in the district were in spate.
A car stuck in the river was washed away in the strong current of water today morning in Kotdwar of Pauri district. Shweta Choubey told media, "There was no casualty but a car got washed away in the strong current of the river."
Heavy rainfall alert:
Uttarakhand State Emergency Operation Centre has asked all district magistrates to take precautions in their respective districts in view of the possibility of heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places in Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri, Bageshwar, Champawat, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar, officials said. Uttarakhand State Emergency Operation Centre is part of Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had earlier forecast heavy rains in several Uttarakhand districts including Dehradun.
Heavy rains in Uttarakhand triggered landslides and flash floods in several places. Dehradun India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director Bikram Singh issued a two-day red alert in Uttarakhand on August 22. He said the state will witness very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in the coming days two to three days.
The IMD had issued an orange alert for Dehradun, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat and Bageshwar districts while a yellow alert has been issued for Haridwar, Tehri, Chamoli, Udham Singh Nagar and Pithoragarh districts.
An official estimate earlier put the toll from rain-related incidents in the state at 52 while 37 people were reported to have sustained injuries.
(With ANI inputs)
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