Rain Fury Continues in Uttarakhand, Rivers Flowing Near Danger Mark

Officials say since an alert for heavy rain was sounded in time, devotees have been evacuated to safety. No loss to life or damage to property has been reported yet.

Rivers like Mandakini, Sharda, Bhagirathi and Alakananda are flowing near the danger mark. People living in areas adjacent to the rivers have been asked to leave their houses and move to safety.

In the Kedar valley, the National Highway has been inundated with water at two places between Chamoli to Shrinagar.

The Rishikesh-Badrinath national highway (NH) and the road connecting Kedarnath-Gaurikund have also been blocked following heavy downpour and landslides.

Since Tuesday, it has been raining incessantly in many districts like Champawat, Chamoli and Nainital.

Landslides have been reported in Lambagarh, Chirobagadh and Vijaynagar near Augustmuni in the Chamoli.

Heavy to very heavy rains have been forecast for most parts of the hill state and weather officials say there will be no respite from rains for the next two days.

Administration officers were put on alert after the weather department's warning. State Disaster Response Fund or SDRF personnel have been deployed in vulnerable areas of Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh.

Drawing lessons from the last year's disaster that claimed the lives of thousands of pilgrims, the Disaster Management Department has begun issuing regular weather updates this season to ensure the safety of devotees.

Thousands of people were killed in June last year when heavy rain and flash floods devastated Uttarakhand. Most bridges and roads to the shrines were destroyed, arterial roads to many villages were also washed away or severely damaged.