Weather Office's Orange Alert For Himachal, Uttarakhand, 2 Other States

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for rain in four states, including Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, today. Jharkhand and Odisha are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall today, the IMD said.

"#OrangeAlert: #Jharkhand & #Odisha likely to get heavy to very heavy rainfall (115.6 to 204.4 mm) on 16th July", the weather office said in a tweet.

Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are likely to receive heavy to very heavy showers on July 16 and July 17, it added.

"#OrangeAlert: #HimachalPradesh and #Uttarakhand likely to get heavy to very heavy rainfall (115.6 to 204.4 mm) during 16th to 17th July", it said.

"There is a possibility of more rain in Uttarakhand on July 16 and July 17. For today, a red alert has been issued in Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri and Haridwar districts and an orange alert has been issued for the remaining districts. There will be a slight reduction in rainfall on July 18," Vikram Singh, Director, Meteorological Department, Dehradun, told news agency ANI.

"Although there will be a slight decrease in the rainfall on July 18, there are still chances of heavy rainfall. So it is necessary to be on high alert", he said.

Heavy rainfall in the state has caused landslides that have blocked roads and highways, stranding hundreds.

On Sunday, a senior official said the Balwakot-Dharchula road in Dharchula near the border area of the Pithoragarh district was blocked after a landslide.

The Yamunotri Highway number 123 was blocked on Saturday as debris fell near the Chami village in the Garhwal District. Dozens of vehicles remained stuck on both sides of the road, officials said.

The flood rescue operation by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) continues in the flood-affected areas of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, and Delhi, where torrential rainfall and the release of water from barrages have resulted in unprecedented floods, an official statement said on late Friday evening.

Fifty eight teams of the NDRF have been deployed to the flood-affected states to aid them in rescue and relief work. Of the 58 teams, 16 have been deployed in Delhi, 11 in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand each, and 10 teams each in Punjab and Haryana.