Uttarakhand: 4 dead in landslide; IMD issues orange alert till Aug 24
All schools in Bhilangana, Chamba, Narendra Nagar and Jaunpur in Tehri district have been closed on August 22
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday (August 22) issued an “orange alert” for heavy to very heavy rain in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh from August 22 to August 24, especially in in five districts of Uttarakhand, including Dehradun, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, and Bageshwar.
The IMD alert comes a day after four persons were killed in a landslide in Chamba in Uttarakhand's Tehri district.
The IMD also said there was a moderate risk of flash floods occurring in catchment areas of the Chamba and Mandi districts, forecasting rains till August 26.
Four bodies recovered
Tehri Senior Superintendent of Police Navneet Singh Bhullar said the body of a 30-year-old man was pulled out of the debris in the evening. The SP said he was identified as Prakash, a local.
Bhullar said four bodies have been recovered so far and a search is underway for another missing person. Earlier in the day, the bodies of two women and a four-month-old child were found in a car which was buried under the landslide rubble. The deceased were identified as Poonam Khanduri, her four-month-old son, and her sister-in-law Saraswati Devi.
Some more vehicles could also be trapped as the landslide hit a taxi stand near the Chamba police station, he said.
The landslide has blocked the New Tehri-Chamba motor road, the police said, adding that the State Disaster Relief Force has deployed excavator machines to carry out search and rescue.
District Magistrate Mayur Dikshit, SSP Bhullar, and Chief Development Officer Manish Kumar are at the spot, police officials said.
Schools closed on Aug 22
Meanwhile, all schools from class 1 to 12 and anganwadi kendras in Bhilangana, Chamba, Narendra Nagar and Jaunpur in Tehri district have been closed on Tuesday on the orders of the DM in view of the meteorological department's heavy rain alert for various parts of the state over the next two days.
There have been heavy rains in Uttarakhand that caused flash floods and landslides in several places.
(With inputs from agencies)
