Rain fury in north India, toll reaches 19 in Himachal

PTI, NEW DELHI:  Heavy rains lashed north India leading to flash floods in Jammu and Kashmir, where four people were killed, even as the death toll in Himachal Pradesh reached 19.

Landslides were reported in several areas in Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

A five-year-old boy drowned in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district this morning, taking the death toll to 19 in the last two days, an official said.

The highest casualty was in Solan district (eight), followed by Mandi district (four), three in Kangra district, two in Hamirpur district and one each in Bilaspur and Una districts.

Four people were killed in flash floods and three others suffered injuries following unabated rains in Jammu region. Over two dozen houses and scores of vehicles were damaged by the gushing waters.

While two persons died in Udhampur district two others were injured -- one person each died in Jammu and Poonch districts -- since yesterday, they said.

As per reports two dozen houses and structures suffered damaged due to rains, flash floods and landslides in Jammu, Kathua, Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur and Reasi districts and scores of vehicles were damaged in Jammu city.

The region had been witnessing heavy rainfall for the past three days. 

Many important roads in Jammu city were flooded.

Trees and electric poles have been uprooted in several areas and numerous vehicles washed away in New Plot area.

Chenab, Tawi and Basantar rivers were overflowing. 

Power and water supply to most parts of Jammu city and other rural areas had been badly affected since last evening.

In Uttarakhand's Champawat district, a woman was killed in after a tree fell on her amid heavy rains. 

The state emergency management centre said due to increased water level of the Ganges after heavy rains, a 450-meter-long stretch of its embankment near Kalasia village in Haridwar district was damaged, posing danger to the nearby areas.

The district administration also issued an alert, warning people of the nearby areas of the possible danger.

At Gopeshwar in Chamoli district, a colony of government employees near the district hospital was reporting intermittent landslides and efforts were on to evacuate the members of the eight families living there, an official said.

Various places in the state were experiencing light to medium rains intermittently, which itself was a relief from the incessant heavy rains, lashing the state for the last few days. 

With the rainfall triggering widespread landslides in the state, many of the key arteries roads in the state, including the national highways like Rishikesh-Badrinath, Rishikesh-Yamunotri and Takanpur-Pithoragarh highways have got blocked, said the official, adding that the efforts are on to reopen them.