Several Roads Blocked, Cars Buried As Heavy Rains Lash Uttarakhand

Border Roads Organisation teams are working to clear the blocked roads and highways to ensure smooth traffic movement. The Tharali Dewal motorway is expected to reopen only by tomorrow. 

Vehicles stuck in the debris after heavy torrential rains at Tharali in Chamoli district, early Thursday.

Source : PTI

The daily life was thrown out of gear in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district after torrential rains lashed the hilly state on Wednesday evening. Several roads were blocked and vehicles were seen buried under the debris in Tharali following the rains.

According to the Dynamite News, the heavy rainfall in Tharali area wreaked havoc, causing streams in the state to overflow and trigger landslides. An Alto and a Scorpio were among the vehicles buried under debris near Ramlila Maidan on the Tharali-Dewal motorway due to flooding from Siphai Gadhera stream.

The Karnaprayag-Gwaldam National Highway was also blocked near Nasir Bazaar due to debris. Meanwhile, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) teams are working to clear the blocked roads and highways to ensure smooth traffic movement. However, the Tharali Dewal motorway is expected to reopen only by tomorrow (April 11). 

Chamoli district disaster management officer N K Joshi said that the rain-related damage was limited to a small area in Tharali, where two vehicles were damaged, TOI reported.

The report said that the region received rains due to a sudden weather shift which caused heavy rain and hailstorms in Bageshwar district and damaged crops in Banlekh, Dug Nakuri, Kanda, and Dhapti, causing massice losses to farmers.

A fallen tree had blocked the Bageshwar-Girchina road and the vehicles were left stranded due to the debris near Ason villge. District Disaster Officer Shikha Suyal stated that the storm exceeded forecasts, causing more damage than expected.

IMD Issues Yellow Alert

The India Meterological Department has issued a yellow alert in Uttarakhand for Thursday and Friday. As per the forecast, isolated places in Ruddraprayag, Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Bageshwar, and Pithoragarh will receive rain and thunderstorm on these two days.

The plains, including Dehradun, Pauri, and Nainital are expected to get thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds of 30-40 km/h. The weather department has also forecasr showers in Tehri, Almora, and Champawat districts.

Dehradun on Wednesday recorded a maximum temperature of 35°C, which was more than four degrees above normal. The minimum temperature, however, settled at 21°C, which is around five degrees above average. Other parts of the state also experienced temperatures well above normal, both in the hills and plains.