Dehradun: 7:15 pm: At least 1000 have died while thousands are still stranded, says Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna. He further says, "We welcome all the chief minister who are visiting the state."
7:15 pm: Met Director, Uttarakhand tells CNN-IBN that light to moderate rain is expected in hills and foothills of the state on Sunday.
6:30 pm: Four bodies recovered from the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh's Bijnaur district, police say. In all probability, the bodies have come from Uttarakhand and their DNA is being preserved, police add.
6:00 pm: 73,000 stranded pilgrims have been evacuated till now, says Uttarakhand government.
5:53 pm: 3000 people stuck at Ghaghriya in Badrinath have been evacuated.
5:42 pm: Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar says Gangotri is completely evacuated. He also says 470 persons have been rescued from Junglechetti while 250 persons have been rescued from Kedarnath on Saturday. Kumar adds 2000 people are still at Harsil, where airlifting has begun.
5:20 pm: Second C130J, a military aircraft, has brought back 101 evacuees from Uttarakhand - 80 elderly, 19 children and 2 others on stretcher. Third C130J is airborne with a medical team.
3:41 pm: Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde says the priority for people stranded in Junglechetti is food. "We are trying to provide food to them. I believe all evacuations will complete in one or two days," Shinde said.
He added, "The area where large helicopters can't land, road routes are being made. Many dead bodies are unrecognisable. We have asked all agencies to take photographs, take information and share and have also asked for DNA testing."
3:36 pm: PTI has reported that scores of pilgrims are on the verge of death having gone without food for a week, while others who managed to reach Sonprayag on foot have complained that rescue operations are yet to reach those stranded between Gaurikund and Kedarnath.
2:17 pm: The Chamoli District Magistrate said Badrinath was totally safe and there were no damages or casualties in the area. "Mobile network, ATM are working in Badrinath. 5000 to 6000 people still remain in Badrinath. But there is nothing to worry. They are completely safe," he said.
"All from Hemkund Sahib will be evacuated by Sunday. Badrinath will take a few days," he added.
1:06 pm: The Indian Air Force has stepped up rescue operations in Uttarakhand, wary of more rains predicted by the Met department in the coming days. The IAF has committed 3 C-130s to Operation Rahat. The first C-130 has arrived at the Hindon Airbase in Ghaziabad from Dharasu after making air sorties. About 40 people have been brought back on a single sortie. An IAF spokesperson said that the second C-130 has left from from Hindon with more fuel, the third will take the medical aid. The intensity of the operations have increased since the fuel has reached Dharasu in Uttarakhand.
12:37 pm: Giving details of the massive destruction in the Uttarakhand floods, Shinde said 550 people have died while many have been injured. "550 deaths have occurred till Friday, 392 people have been injured while 334 people are missing. 1,751 houses have been damaged, 147 bridges have been damaged and 1,307 roads have been damaged."
He said the identification of dead bodies has begun and the DNA tests of decomposed bodies will also be undertaken. "Despite bad weather the Army, NDRF, ITBP are landing and conducting rescue operations. Operations are on a war-footing About 200 people are stuck in Jangalchetti, our priority right now is to provide them food somehow," Shinde added.
12:08 pm:People from Kharasi village have blocked the road between Barkot and Yamunotri and are preventing evacuation of people from Yamunotri. They are protesting the extensive damage to the village due to flash floods in the state.
11:30 am: Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has said that close to 30,000 people have been rescued so far from different parts of Uttarakhand while 35,000 to 40,000 people are still stranded. He said if the rescue operations go on in the same way, evacuations will be completed in one or two days. He added that the weather in the state remains a worry.
Meanwhile, the Army has established a helicopter bridge across the Alaknanda river at Govind Ghat to evacuate 500 people. The Army says it will access Hemkund Sahib today
The full impact of the flash floods in Uttarakhand is slowly coming to light as over 550 people have been killed and thousands still remain stranded. But the government has warned that the toll could rise dramatically as flood waters recede and rescue workers reach isolated areas.
In fact rescue operations are on a war-footing with the Met department predicting rains within the next 48 hours. "Rains should increase from June 24, starting in the Kumaon region to the Dehradun belt. There may also be light or more rains from June 25 to 28 in the entire state. We had indicated that there could be an increase in cloud cover and rain. Fog could also be a problem," said Met department Director Anand Sharma.
Over 34,000 people have been rescued so far and are being sent back home on special trains from Dehradun and Haridwar. A helipad has been constructed near Kedarnath and rescue operations will continue on Saturday. Meanwhile, communications have been partially restored, with centers operating from Gaurikund, Gauchar, Phata and Joshimath.
Meanwhile, thousands of pilgrims still stranded at Badrinath are crying out for help as children and the elderly battle extreme conditions. Rescue teams may only have a brief window to conclude operations as the Met department forecasts heavy showers again on Monday.
Army sources say they are prioritising the rescue of women and children. But with around 4,000 still trapped at Badrinath, time may run out, as the Army say the whole operation will likely take five to six days to finish.
In some good news, Army troops dropped near Gaurikund have established contact with close to 1,000 people who were stranded in Jungle Chatti, which is between the treacherous Gaurikund and Rambara area. A few people are believed to be in a critical condition. Giving details on this, Brigadier Uma Maheshwar said that it will take some time to begin evacuation at this stretch as the terrain is extremely difficult.
"The Jungle Chatti terrain is difficult, no foot operations are possible. Troops, food, medical aid is being air-dropped into Jungle Chatti," he said. He added that rope ways have been fixed in order to enable the able bodied to make their way.
Though the Army, the ITBP and other disaster management teams have succeeded in rescuing thousands, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said on Friday he feared that death toll could run into hundreds.
"Over 556 bodies have been recovered in the state so far but there are reports that more could be buried under the debris," he said while speaking to CNN-IBN's Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate.
The Chief Minister also admitted to the lapses in the government's preparedness for the calamity. He said it was most likely that the Uttarakhand Disaster Management Board never met since its constitution. He also conceded that the state did not meet the norms laid by the National Disaster Management.
Bahuguna, however, refuted reports that his government had prior warnings about the cloud burst and said "the magnitude of the calamity is so huge that no authority or body could have handled it". "Even the Government of India doesn't have a force which can handle such a situation," he added.
He said the damage caused to the hill state by the floods and landslides was massive and it would take a long time to "rebuild Uttarakhand". He added that Kedarnath has suffered the worst and therefore no yatra would be organised for at least next two years.
Bahuguna said rescue operations were on and it would take another 15 days to complete evacuation in the state. "Over 30,000 have been evacuated and those who are stuck in certain areas in Uttarakhand, there is no threat to their lives," he added. The Chief Minister said the stranded people were being brough to Army relief camps, which have been established in Harsil, Joshimath, Rudraprayag and Gaucher," Bahuguna said.
While many state governments announced compensations for the Uttarakhand flood victims on Friday, both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party presidents asked its party leaders to contribute to the relief fund.
The devastation caused by the floods in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh is likely to declared a national calamity. In a meeting held on Friday, the Standing Committee on Home Ministry agreed unanimously that the unprecedented nature's fury in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh be declared a "national calamity" and urged the Centre to extend all support to the two states in relief and rehabilitation operations.
The search for those missing continues
While rescue teams search for people in different parts of Uttarakhand, many people are also using social media to get information about their loved ones. A lot of photographs and helpline numbers have been uploaded on websites like Google and Facebook.
Social media has brought people together in this hour of tragedy - to help them locate missing family members. The clamour for help has now spread to Google spreadsheets. Hundreds of people have begun updating the spreadsheet with information about their loved ones hoping to get leads. Others have added helpline numbers and links to Government websites.
The Uttarakhand government has set up a page (http://uk.gov.in/pages/view/481-rescue-and-relief-operations) for all information on those rescued from different areas. The page also has helpline numbers of different places in Uttarakhand.
Not just that search engine, Google has also made finding your loved ones much easier - you can just go on the personalised people finder and type the name of the missing person - it has already help locate 150 people
A Facebook page called 'Help Uttrakhand - 2013 floods' was started by a group of friends after their parents went missing. It includes scanned lists of those found and photos of those still missing. Even Twitter is filled with information & leads. Esha Maheswari, whose parents are missing in Uttrakashi, says this has given her hope.
You can also send us pictures and names of your loved ones who are missing. Just go to www.ibnlive.com/uttarakhandmissing or ibncj.com.
Helpline numbers:
Uttarkashi: 01374-226126, 226161
Chamoli: 01372-251437
Tehri: 01376-233433
Rudraprayag: 01732-1077
The ITBP helpline and control room numbers: 011-24362892, 9968383478
Army medical emergency helpline numbers: 18001805558, 18004190282, 8009833388
Uttarakhand Helpline numbers: 0135-2710334, 2710335, 2710233
Railway helpline numbers at Haridwar: 09760534054/09760534055;
Dehradun: 01352622131;
Rishikesh: 01352434167
Special helpline numbers:
State Disaster Management Centre: 0135-2710334, 2710335, 2718401-04. Fax: 2718400, 6555523, 6555524
Others: 09755444486, 09808151240, 09837134399, 999779124, 9451901023, 9456755206, 9634535758
For more information, please see the website where details are available: http://uk.gov.in
Email ID: [email protected]
Haridwar Control Room Numbers: 01334-233727, 01334-265876, 01334-223999, 01334-226849
Contact Person Dr Naresh Chaudhary: 9837352202
(With additional information from PTI)####[View the story ”Uttarakhand floods: These people are missing. Can you help?” on Storify]
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