At least 12 people were killed and six others were injured in heavy overnight rains in various parts of Uttarakhand, triggering many incidents of house collapse, flooding and rise in water levels of several rivers.
Meanwhile, a cloudburst was also reported in Kedarnath on Wednesday alongside a steep rise in Mandakini river's water level.
The Disaster Control Room in Dehradun said that Haridwar district reported six deaths, Tehri three, Dehradun two and Chamoli one. Two persons one each in Haldwani and Chamoli are still missing, it added.
Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh said that two persons were swept away by the waters of an overflowing seasonal canal near Raipur's Ordnance Factory, adding that both their bodies have been recovered.
Uttarakhand rains: Kedarnath cloudburst
Earlier, a total of 450 Kedarnath-bound pilgrims got stranded beyond Bhimbali along Gaurikund-Kedarnath trek route where 20-25 metres of the stretch were washed out by heavy rain on Wednesday night.
Disaster Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman had said 200 passengers, who were stranded on the Kedarnath roure near the Bhimbali Chowki due to falling stones, had been moved to safer places, adding that efforts to rescue the rest with the help of helicopters was underway.
In light of the disastrous situation, several teams of NDRF, SDRF and police were engaged in assisting the search and rescue operations.
Additionally, an advisory was also issued for the Kedarnath-bound pilgrims, asking them to wait in a safe place until the weather condition improves and blocked roads are restored.
Uttarakhand rains: Houses collapsed, cars washed away
Besides the cloudburst in Kedarnath, several other parts of Uttarakhand also faced consequences of torrential rainfall. While a family is reported to have gone missing following a cloudburst in a village in the Ghansali area of Tehri district, a house collapsed due to heavy rain in Bharpur village near Roorkee in Haridwar district.
According to the disaster control room, four people also went missing in rain-related incidents in Dehradun, Haldwani and Chamoli. Two people were swept away by the waters of an overflowing seasonal canal in Raipur area of Dehradun.
Several vehicles were washed away in torrential rain for a few hours in Haridwar including a truck of kanwariyas. Fortunately, there were no kanwariyas in the truck but it had rations and essential goods for their return journey.
About a dozen four-wheelers standing in the same dry riverbed were washed away due to sudden flooding after heavy rain on June 25 as well.
Roads got submerged in many areas of the city and the rainwater also entered the Kankhal police station. Heavy waterlogging also occurred at Ranipur turning, the posh commercial area of Haridwar, while water gushed into many big showrooms. Latowali in Kankhal was flooded up to four feet.
Uttarakhand rains: CM Dhami reviews situation
Taking stock of the situation, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke to the disaster management secretary over the phone late on Wednesday. The CM himself is also monitoring sensitive areas from the disaster point of view and is in constant touch with officials.
Following the instructions issued by the chief minister, teams of the district administration, National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have been put on high alert.
The chief minister also appealed to people to leave their homes only when necessary. "The safety of people and visitors coming to the state is our top priority."
