Girl missing after flash floods in Uttarakhand

A girl was missing while two children were rescued in Uttarkashi district after they were swept away by a severe hailstorm coupled with heavy rains and flash floods in parts of Uttarakhand late last evening.

The hailstorm killed four animals in Pauri district while in Dehradun, it uprooted several trees which fell on electric poles disruptingpower supply in the city for hours.

Three children were washed away in a flash floodin Gangtadi village of Badkot tehsil of Uttarkashi district late last evening, the Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre (DMMC) here said.

While two of them were rescued bypolice and SDRF personnel, search is on for a girl who is still missing, the DMMC said.

Fouranimals were also killed in a hailstorm in Bumuch village of Chakkisain tehsil of Pauri district.

In Dehradun, the hailstorm uprooted trees at places such as Buddha Chowk, Sahastradhracrossing, Dwarka store Chowk, RTO office and RISPANA bridge.

Several uprooted trees fell on electric poles disrupting power supply in the city for over 15 hours.

The MeT department has predicted squalls with speed up to 70 to 80 Kmph at isolated places in Uttarakhand for today.

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has sought detailed information on the damage caused by the severe storm/hailstorm on Friday evening from State Emergency Operation Centre and asked all the district magistrates to be alert.

He saidany incident of disaster should be conveyed to senior officials immediately.

There is need to be extra vigilant over the next three months, he said.

He also asked the district magistrates to be prepared to deal withany kind of disaster and respond urgently to such situations.

Strict action should be taken against officials and employees showing laxity in tackling their responsibilities, the Rawat said.

He saidtelephone numbers of pradhans of gram panchayats should be updated so that they could be contacted in case of an emergency.

Uttarkashi and Pauri received 28 mm of rain last evening while Dehradun received a rainfall of 40 mm.