One person died and one is missing while a number of homes and shops were damaged due to a flash flood along with debris following heavy rain in Tharali and nearby settlements in Chamoli district in the wee hours on Saturday.
According to the officials, information was received about a flash flood in Tunri Gadera mountain stream bringing debris in the Tharali tehsil compound, Chepdo and Kotdeep bazaar and some homes at about 12:50 am. While the main road in the market and roadside shops were damaged by the debris, a number of vehicles parked in the affected areas were also damaged.
A young woman was buried under debris in her home in Sagwada village. The body of Kavita Bisht (20) was recovered later in the day by the authorities.
Meanwhile, Ganga Datt Joshi (78) of Chepdo is reported to be missing. Further, at least eight persons have been injured in the Chepdo area of Tharali with some of them being airlifted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rishikesh.
The total number of homes and other buildings damaged along with cattle affected by the disaster was being ascertained by the authorities till the time of this report being filed. The police, local administration, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Gwaldam, Border Roads Organisation, Health department and other departmental personnel are in the disaster-affected area.
The Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached the state emergency operation centre in Dehradun on Saturday evening to monitor the rescue and relief operations. It will be recalled that the disaster in Tharali comes about a fortnight after a major disaster was witnessed at Dharali in Uttarkashi district.