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At least 22 people have been killed following the cloudburst and landslide as heavy rains lashed Pithoragarh and Chamoli districts of Uttarakhand, officials said.
A huge landslide in Chamoli left 70 yatris bound for Badrinath stranded for hours before they were rescued.
National Disaster Response Force teams were rushed from Delhi to the affected areas in both Pithoragarh and Chamoli districts to help in the rescue operations along with along with State Disaster Response Force, Sashastra Seema Bal and Indo-Tibetan Border Police and local agencies, officials said.
The entire area is being scoured for people who went missing after the cloudburst which occurred early in the wee hours affecting several villages.
According to disaster management officeer R S Rana, the cloudburst occurred in the villages of Singhali, Patthakot, Ogla and Thal villages which are lying under heavy debris with people trapped under it.
“The rescuers are trying their best to locate and recover people,” Rana said.
Pithoragarh disaster management office said the cloudburst brought over 100 mm rains in a space of just two hours in an area spread over 50 square kilometre leaving a trail of destruction.
According to villagers, it is for the first time in 100 years that the region has seen such a cloudburst.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Harish Rawat and Governor K K Paul expressed grief at the loss of lives in the two districts and asked officials to be on the alert.
The crisis could be big as many people are still trapped under tonnes of debris brought in the wake of the heavy rains and cloudburst.
Makeshift tents and foodgrains are being provided for the affected families, an official release said.
The cloudburst revealed loopholes in the state government’s preparedness to deal with such situations with Chief Minister Harish Rawat telling a private news channel that due to poor connectivity it took him four hours to establish telephonic contact with Pithoragarh District Magistrate.
“Now we know what we need to do for better connectivity in disaster prone areas of the state,” he said.