One Dead, Girl Missing After Hailstorm Triggered Flash Floods in Uttarakhand

Dehradun: A person was killed after the branch of a tree fell on him while search was on for a girl who was swept away by flash floods triggered by severe hailstorm in parts of Uttarakhand Friday evening.

In Champawat district, the branch of a tree fell on a vehicle injuring one person, who died while being taken to the hospital.

The hailstorm coupled with heavy rains triggered a flash flood in Uttarkashi where three children were swept away as muck inundated their home, the State Emergency Operation Centre here said.

Two of them were rescued but a girl is still missing, it said. The hailstorm marked by high-speed gusty winds lasted around half an hour and hit different parts of the state.

Four animals were also killed in a hailstorm in Bumuch village of Chakkisain tehsil of Pauri district when two cowsheds were washed away.

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 power supply was restored in Dehradun only towards Saturday evening.

Two persons were also injured at Rudrapur in Udhamsingh Nagar district as part of a building collapsed over them.

The MeT department has predicted squalls and gusty winds with speed up to 70 to 80 Kmph at isolated places in Uttarakhand over the next 24 hours.

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 said any 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 with any 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 said telephone 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.