At least 30 people have died after a cloudburst in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli and Pithoragarh districts on Friday. The water levels are continuing to rise in areas including Chamoli and Nandaprayag. Union home minister Rajnath Singh said, “NDRF teams are rushed to the affected areas and additional teams of NDRF are also put on alert.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives and tweeted, “I am grieved by the loss of lives caused due to cloudburst and heavy rain in parts of Uttarakhand. Condolences to bereaved families”. He added, “My prayers are with those injured. I hope normalcy returns to the rain-affected areas at the earliest”.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh took to social media and tweeted, “Spoke to chief minister of Uttarakhand Shri Harish Rawat regarding the situation post the cloudburst in the state. The Centre is providing all possible assistance”.
Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat on Friday expressed pain over the incident and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to families of the victims.
Earlier, it was reported that nine people were confirmed dead and many others feared missing following a cloudburst near Pithoragarh town of Uttarakhand. Many people are still feared to be dead or trapped under debris.
In the last 24 hours, all major rivers in the state have swollen after receiving 54 mm rainfall.
Another cloudburst in Chamoli resulted in houses being washed away on the banks of Mandakini River in the state. Many houses in the adjacent regions are also believed to be in danger.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has reportedly issued a warning of heavy rainfall in the isolated regions in Uttarakhand, especially in areas including Nainital, Udhamsingh Nagar and Champawat over the next 72 hours.
