Another cloudburst wreaks havoc in Uttarakhand, girl reported trapped under debris, man goes missing

Uttarakhand witnessed another bout of heavy rain triggering cloudburst causing extensive devastation in Tharali block of district Chamoli on Saturday. One man was missing while a girl was reported to be trapped under debris in theirs homes.

​Heavy rains worsened conditions in Sagwara village, Kotdweep and Chepado markets of Tharali block in Chamoli as cloudburst resulted into massive deposition, of debris and muck brought by local rivulet Dunari, in the houses.

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According to the information provided by the State Emergency Operation Centre Dehradun incident occured at around 12.48 am. The rivulet was in spate due to continuous rain in the area triggering a cloudburst on higher location.

This caused huge discharge of water and muck in the rivulet that flooded entire area. State disaster management officials informed that a girl was trapped under the debris at Village Sagwara while a man was reported missing from Chapedo market area.

“A tragic report has been received about a cloudburst late last night in Tharali area of Chamoli district. The district administration, SDRF (State Disaster Response Force), and police have arrived at the scene and are engaged in relief and rescue operations.

​I am in continuous contact with the local administration and monitoring the situation closely. I pray for everyone’s safety” said his social media post.

The overflowing Dunri rivulet wreaked havoc in the area as several vehicles were buried in debris, and people were terrified as huge mud and rubble depositions were seen in their homes. Massive accumulation of debris took place in Tharali Market and the Kotdweep Tehsil office premises. Vehicles parked in the campus were buried in the rubble.

It’s significant that situation in Chamoli district hill areas has turned critical as continuous torrential rains rendered major rivers Pindar and Pranamati in spate.

​Meanwhile District administration has forced residents to move to safer locations. Rescue and relief teams are on site, although the heavy rain is hindering relief efforts. The administration has appealed to people to stay alert and away from the river banks.

​On the other hand Tharali-Gwaldam and Tharali-Sagwara roads were blocked to the debris slides as teams of Indian Army, NDRF, SDRF, ITBP, SSB, local police and administration have launched search and rescue operation.