DEHRADUN: Several parts of Uttarakhand, particularly the
Kumaon region
districts that have been worst-affected by raging
forest fires
, experienced moderate to heavy rainfall on Wednesday, reports Gaurav Talwar.
Bikram Singh, director of the regional meteorological centre, said, “A substantial amount of rain fell in the three districts of
Bageshwar
, Pithoragarh and Almora.
We expect that the majority of wildfires there have been extinguished by the downpour.” He said in the next couple of days, rains will intensify in other parts of the state and the remaining wildfires in Nainital, Pauri Garhwal and Tehri Garhwal will also be doused.
While the fresh spell of downpour helped in controlling wildfires to a large extent, it led to some collateral damage as well.
In Bageshwar district of Kumaon, the sudden heavy rain led to a flash flood-like situation, causing damage to some roads. The downpour threw normal life out of gear in the Someshwar area of Almora district, too, where debris entered several houses. The Almora-Kausani highway that connects Almora with Bageshwar district also got blocked due to the accumulation of slush brought by sudden rainfall.
A similar situation was witnessed in Uttarkashi’s Purola region where the sudden downpour caused a flash-flood like situation in Kumola and Hudoli streams, causing the water level to rise quickly and alarming nearby residents. As a precautionary measure, the district administration temporarily halted vehicle movement over the Hudoli stream until the water receded.
As per the Met office, Kapkot received 45mm rain, Garud 40mm, and Bageshwar city 36mm. In Uttarkashi district, Chinyalisaur received 15mm rain, followed by 10mm in Mori area of the district.Significantly, the Met centre has issued a yellow alert of rain, thunderstorm and lightning activities across the state till May 13.
(With inputs from Abhyudaya Kotnala in Uttarkashi)
