Published On:Saturday, August 4, 2012
Posted by abg man
Over 30 dead as flash floods hit Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu
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Army soldiers take pictures of a flash flood on the banks of the River Tawi in Jammu, India, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012. At least 30 people were killed in the flash floods in Jammu, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
DEHRADUN/MANALI: At least 31 people were feared dead and hundreds homeless as incessant rain battered the northern states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu all through Friday night, triggering landslides, cloud bursts and flash floods.
The Chardham Yatra to Gangotri and Yamunotri was suspended for the second day on Saturday as several pilgrims were stranded due to landslides. Hundreds of ITBP and BRO officers have been deployed to clear roads and rescue the trapped pilgrims, authorities said.
In Uttarakhand, the Garhwal region bore the brunt of the disaster. Nineteen labourers of the state-run Assi Ganga hydel project were swept away after a cloudburst in the upper hills of Uttarkashi district. The disaster management department said while 28 people - including 19 construction workers and three fire brigade personnel - were swept away in low-lying villages along the Assi Ganga river, two children aged between six and nine were crushed in a house collapse at Karanpryag town in Chamoli district.
In Himachal, one person was killed while 82 families lost their homes in flash floods in the Seri, a tributary of the river Beas, wreaked havoc on Friday night near Manali. Around 200m of the highway and a dozen vehicles were aalso washed away. Around the same time, flash floods struck at Dhundi, 20km from Manali, washing away a BRO bailey bridge near the construction site of the Rohtang tunnel.
The body of a man who was drowned along with his car in Manali was recovered near Kullu. Many trucks, tractors and JCBs of the BRO and more than 50 workers' settlements were washed away in Bhang village. "We spent a horrible night guarding our houses amid the screams of people fleeing," said Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Bhang.
22 trapped in Jammu flash floods rescued, alert sounded
Traffic on the Manali-Kullu national highway remained closed till Saturday morning as a small stretch of the road was washed away in flash floods on Friday night. Police evacuated hundreds of families residing near the river banks between Palchan and Kullu to safer places late at night. Kullu deputy commissioner Amitabh Awasthi said that relief work is being carried out on a war-footing and people have been moved to safer places.
The twenty-two people trapped in flash floods in Kathua and Jammu districts were safely rescued by police and locals on Saturday, officials said. Of the 22 people rescued, 15 were trapped in Kathua and seven in Jammu district, an official said.
Meanwhile, a flash flood alert has been sounded in Jammu region, where intermittent overnight rains resulted in the flooding of rivers, officials said.
Water level in Chenab, Tawi, Ujh and Basantar rivers are nearing the danger mark, they said, adding that people living in low-lying areas have been alerted and warned of flash floods. They have also been asked to keep away from banks of the flooded rivers.
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