Uttarakhand struggles with rain aftermath: 52 people dead, 5 still missing

Landslides blocked roads, many villages went without electricity and the death toll climbed to 52 in Uttarakhand

Landslides blocked roads, many villages went without electricity and the death toll climbed to 52 as authorities on Wednesday faced the aftermath of the rains that had battered Uttarakhand for over two days. Six more bodies were pulled out from the rubble of collapsed houses. Five people are still missing and 17 injured, according to official data.

The weather cleared on Wednesday morning after the incessant rains since Sunday night that had triggered floods which washed away bridges and landslides which blocked access to towns like Nainital for hours. Most of the deaths were due to house collapses – an official statement said 46 of them suffered damage. Twenty-eight of the deaths were in Nainital district alone. The official count of people missing due to rain-related incidents does not include a trekking team of 11 people that left Uttarkashi but had not reached its destination Chitkul in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.

Also missing are three porters accompanying an ITBP patrol near the India-China border. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said it has rescued hundreds from the flood-affected areas of Uttarakhand. The federal force has deployed 17 rescue teams in the state. “So far, NDRF rescuers have evacuated more than 1,300 stranded people from Udham Singh Nagar and Nanital. They are also distributing relief material in flood-affected areas of Uttarakhand,” a spokesperson said…Read Full Story