960 rescued, over 10K taken to safer locations in HP, U'khand, Punjab: NDRF

A total of 29 teams of the federal contingency force have been earmarked for undertaking relief and rescue operations in these states out of which 14 are actively deployed while rest are on standby

More than 960 people have been rescued while over 10,000 have been shifted to safer places in regions of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab battered by heavy rains and flash floods, the NDRF said on Wednesday.

A total of 29 teams of the federal contingency force have been earmarked for undertaking relief and rescue operations in these states out of which 14 are actively deployed while the rest are on standby.

Due to excessive rainfall in the last few days, flash floods hit Kangra, Shimla and Mandi districts of Himachal Pradesh and Rupnagar district of Punjab, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said in a statement.

Several houses have been damaged and a number of people are stranded at various places, it said.

So far, NDRF has rescued more than 960 victims and shifted 10,363 personnel to safer places in these states, it said in an update issued at 7 pm.

The central force apart from state disaster response units, army, air force, police and local authorities are undertaking rescue operations in the affected areas.

In Himachal Pradesh this week, rains triggered multiple landslides, blocking roads and bringing down houses. About 60 people are dead, and more feared buried under the rubble.

In Punjab, many villages in Hoshiarpur, Rupnagar and Gurdaspur districts were inundated following the release of excess water from the Bhakra and Pong dams.

Torrential rain also ravaged Uttarakhand over the past two days, destroying buildings and causing landslides that breached the national highways to Badrinath, Kedarnath and Gangotri shrines.