Cloudburst flattens houses, bridge in Uttarakhand

Dehradun, Aug 10 (IANS) Around half-a-dozen houses and a bridge were flattened in an overnight cloudburst in Bangapani area in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district, officials said on Thursday.

More than two dozen cattle were washed away in the rains that followed the cloudburst at Kanar and the debris of the houses are being searched to ascertain if there was any loss of life.

Rains continued to wreak havoc in many other parts of Uttarakhand and landslides have been reported from many places. The Badrinath highway was blocked near Lambagad for over two hours and traffic was blocked at Tanakpur national highway in Pithoragarh for several hours. More than 100 link roads continue to be in shambles, with vast regions in the hill tracts remaining cut off.

More than 20 meters of the highway at Pinola between Joshimath and Govindghat was washed away in the rains, affecting the Hemkund Sahib and Badrinath annual pilgrimage.

Rescue teams have been rushed from Munsyari and Dharchula. The district officials said that the exact extent of damage was unknown yet as the region where the cloudburst took place in an interior place.

Meanwhile, the weather department has predicted heavy rains in the next 24 hours at many places including Dehradun, Pauri, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Nainital and Haridwar in the hill state.

In Haridwar, the Ganga has breached the warning mark of 293 meters.

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