A cloudburst in Uttarakhand's Tehri Garhwal area has triggered a flash flood-like situation, with the Bal Ganga and Dharam Ganga rivers swelling significantly and water gushing into people's homes, inundating fields, and damaging roads and bridges. Road connectivity to dozens of villages in the upper regions of the state has been completely cut off.
"Heavy rain lashed the Jakhana, Toli, and Genwali areas around midnight, causing a flash flood in the Bal Ganga, which inundated roadside fields and homes," said District Magistrate Mayur Dikshit.
As per the official, some shops in villages were also damaged by the floodwater. However, there were no casualties as people living in houses close to the riverbanks quickly moved to safer locations.
A revenue police team have been rushed to the flood-hit area, Dikshit said adding that the extent of damage was being estimated. The administration has also advised people living in the area to maintain a distance from the river.
Meanwhile, the water level of the Ganga River in Haridwar and Rishikesh is close to the danger mark. As of Friday, the water level of Ganga at Triveni Ghat in Rishikesh was 339.62 meters, just 88 meters below the danger mark.
Incessant monsoon rains have caused widespread disruption across several areas in Uttarakhand over the past few days. The India Meteorological Department has issued an 'orange alert' predicting heavy rain in some areas of the Dehradun and Bageshwar districts on Saturday. A 'yellow alert' has also been issued for showers in some places in the Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Pauri, Nainital, and Pithoragarh districts.