Uttarakhand gets 369% excess rain in 24 hours; four dead

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand recorded nearly 369% excess rainfall in past 24 hours, triggering landslides, flash floods, and casualties across districts, the regional meteorological centre said on Friday.

Bageshwar was worst-hit, logging nearly 2,000% excess rainfall with 84mm against a normal of 4mm. Two women, Basanti Devi and Bachuli Devi, were killed in Kapkot tehsil after heavy rain destroyed five to six houses. A man, Pawan, was injured, while three others - Ramesh Chandra Joshi, his son Girish, and Puran Joshi - are missing.


Chamoli recorded 72mm rain against the normal 5mm, 1,290% above normal. A couple, Tara Singh and his wife Kamla Devi, was killed, and two others injured. One house was destroyed and nearly 25 cattle went missing. Rudraprayag, which also reported major losses to life and property due to flash floods, saw over 500% excess rainfall, receiving 95mm against the normal 14mm. Dehradun, Uttarkashi, and Haridwar logged more than 400% above-normal rain in a single day.

Heavy rainfall is likely to continue, with Central Water Commission warning that several rivers have crossed the danger mark and may swell further. MeT centre issued a red alert for "heavy to very heavy rain, thunderstorms with lightning, and extremely intense spells" at isolated places in Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Bageshwar, and Dehradun over the next 24 hours. An orange alert has also been issued for Champawat, Haridwar, Pithoragarh, Udham Singh Nagar, and Uttarkashi.

Chief secretary Anand Bardhan instructed district officials to act promptly on IMD alerts & strengthen preparations in sensitive areas.