Cloudburst in Uttarakhand's Devprayag; houses, shops damaged, no casualties reported

In a major incident, several shops and houses damaged due to a cloudburst in the Devprayag area of Uttarakhand's Tehri district. The entire area is covered with debris. 

On Tuesday evening, at about 5 pm in Devprayag, the Shanta river took a gigantic form after a cloudburst on the upper end. The debris in the river caused a lot of damage in the Shanti Bazaar area.

Fortunately, no loss of life has been reported in the incident. DGP Ashok Kumar informed that shops were closed due to curfew and there was no loss of life. The SDRF team has reached there and help is being provided. Due to cloudburst in the Tehri district, the water level of the rivers has increased. 

"Around 12-13 shops and several other properties have been damaged. Since most of these shops were closed due to lockdown, no casualty has been reported yet. Water level is on the rise here, rescue operation underway," MS Rawat, SHO Devprayag was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.

The photos of the incident emerged later, showing the level of damage. There is panic among the people due to the rise in the water level of the rivers. The houses of the people settled on the banks of the river are facing a lot of trouble after the cloudburst.

Heavy damage has also been reported to the power line and water line due to cloudburst. Fortunately, before the debris entered the city, people left the area, otherwise, there would have been a great loss of life. After receiving information about the incident, the police and administration reached the spot. Municipality President Krishna Kant Kotial told that there has been a huge loss in the city due to cloudburst but it is difficult to estimate the loss right now.

Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat also took to Twitter and wrote about the incident. 

"There is information of natural disaster in Devprayag, the confluence of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers. It has been reported that many shops and residential buildings in Devprayag have been damaged due to cloudburst. Thank God there has been no loss of life in this natural event," he tweeted.

The CM also instructed the district administration and police officials to reach the spot and provide immediate relief to the affected people. He has sought a detailed report of the damage caused by the disaster.

Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to CM Tirath Singh Rawat about the cloudburst and assured the Center of all possible help.