Rains wreak havoc in North India , Army called in for rescue ops

Source: The Times of India Date: 09 September 2010

NEW DELHI: Eight more people died today as unrelenting rains wreaked havoc in northern India where major rivers swelled dangerously causing flooding in several areas and Army called in for relief and rescue operations in Haryana. Four people were killed and 'Chardham Yatra' was halted as heavy rains lashed Uttarakhand, paralysing normal life with most of the rivers flowing at danger level. Two children were killed when their house collapsed over them following heavy rains at Mehargaon village in Tehri district. In a similar incident in Vikasnagar town, a woman was buried alive under the debris of her house. A student died after he got buried under the debris as a landslide hit the road while he was going to school at Kotagi area in Rudraprayag district. The 'Chardham Yatra' comprising pilgrimage to the four hilly shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri was halted as heavy rains triggered a series of landslides at a number of areas in Garhwal Himalayas. Ganga, Yamuna and their tributaries were also flowing at danger level in most of the areas in the state.

Uttarkashi received 110 mm of rainfall followed by Mussoorie at 109 mm, Tehri 101 mm and Rudraprayag 100 mm. Heavy rains lashed several parts of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh causing the Yamuna river to inundate more than three dozen villages in Haryana's Yamunanagar district where Army was called in for relief and rescue operations. One person died in rain-related incident in Ambala. Ambala, Karnal, Kurukshetra and Sonepat districts in Haryana has been put on alert in view of the increasing level of Yamuna, Som and Pathrala rivers. Two persons were killed as their house collapsed on them in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur district. Heavy rains crippled normal life in Himachal Pradesh with the catchment areas of Yamuna in Sirmaur district receiving heaviest rainfall of the season.

Heavy downpours caused massive landslides at numerous places across the state, uprooting trees, blocking roads and damaging crop. One person died in a house collapse incident in Nahan. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded at various places in the state due to blocked roads caused by landslides. Meanwhile, several parts of Delhi received rains, bringing the temperature down but keeping the humidity up. The national capital received 0.8 mm of rains during the day. The maximum temperature fell two notches below normal and was recorded at 32 degrees Celsius. The humidity was at a high of 97 per cent while the low was at 76 per cent. According to a MeT forecast, fairly widespread rainfall is expected over Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi till the middle of September.

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