Rain rampage: Thousands stranded, Uttarakhand worst hit

Early arrival of monsoon is usually good news. But the whole of north India, particularly Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the two Himalayan states, have been battered and ravaged by incessant showers, landslides and flash floods. Thousands are stranded in both these states.

In Uttarakhand, the death toll has reached 102. 73,000 people remain stuck in Uttarakhand, many of them pilgrims from other states who were headed to the four shrines or "Char Dham" that include Badrinath and Kedarnath.

The Army is leading rescue operations. 5,000 soldiers have been deployed in the worst-affected areas. 12 Air Force helicopters are being used to airlift stranded pilgrims, tourists and residents. 200 pilgrims were air-lifted yesterday from the Kedarnath shrine.

The water levels in the Ganga and its major tributaries have now receded and the rivers are flowing below danger mark. The high water levels had clogged roads and affected rescue operations.

Rudraprayag district was the worst hit with 20 people dead and 73 buildings, including 40 hotels, along the banks of the Alaknanda swept away in the swirling waters of the river.

Vehicles were seen being washed away; a landslide buried a bus, killing four people and injuring 15 others in Almora district.

The flooded Alaknanda river following heavy rain in Rudraprayag.

Fast moving water from Alaknanda river destroys building during heavy monson rain.

A view of the overflowing Mandakini river damaging a bridge over it in the Kedarnath Valley in Rudraprayag district.

A car after an accident on the Haridwar-Mana national highway.

In Garhwal district, a bridge on the Alakananda river, connecting Rudraprayag and Gaurikund, has been washed away.

A damaged road during heavy monsoon rains near Govindghat of Uttarakhand. The National Highway leading up to Gangotri and Badrinath has been closed and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is constantly working to repair the road.

In Badrinath, 10 buildings were washed away while in Munsiyari the Kali Ganga river engulfed 400 houses.

Television footage has shown bridges, houses and other buildings crashing down and being washed away by the swirling waters. A swollen river is seen engulfing a giant statue of Lord Shiva in the city of Rishikesh on Monday.

A large number of shrines, hotels, rest houses, shops and residential buildings close to the river have also caved in.

Due to the poor weather conditions, the Char Dham Yatra as well as the Amarnath Yatra have been suspended.

In neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who was stuck in Sangla in Kinnaur district for more than 60 hours, was air-lifted this morning by a state helicopter along with a dozen tourists.

Teams from the National Disaster Management Authority are camping in the pilgrimage town of Haridwar awaiting air-lift to the worst-affected districts, officials said.

Heavy rains have caused chaos in the national capital and the surrounding areas. On Monday, Noida witnessed a 5-kilometre-long traffic jam because of incessant rain.

Several roads in Noida are flooded causing traffic jams in several places.

The Indira Gandhi International or IGI Airport in Delhi, two days after it was voted the world's second best airport, was flooded because of heavy rains. Services at the domestic arrival section were severely impeded; several conveyor belts used for baggage were out of service.

Workers cuts a tree that fell on an auto rickshaw during rains in New Delhi on June 16.

Manoj Chausali from Udham Singh Nagar shared this image of a truck tipped over in the gushing waters.

Trash covers a truck submerged in flood waters from heavy monsoon rains in Dehradun.

Pedestrians look at flood damage from heavy monsoon rains in Dehradun.

Several parts of Dehradun were also affected by the heavy rainfall.

People wade through a water logged road during the heavy rain in Haridwar.

In Haryana, the water level in the Yamuna rose suddenly, leaving 22 people dead and 1,000 stranded. In Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor, 250 farmers were stranded after water was released on the Ganga upstream near Haridwar. Around 32 of them have been rescued.

In Delhi, the Yamuna is flowing above the danger mark. The police have asked people living near Yamuna bank to vacate their houses.

There is forecast for rain in Mumbai as well but so far the situation is normal.

A herd of deer making its way through flooded waters in Uttarakhand.