Flood toll rises to at least 138
Source: AFP |
June 20, 2013, Thursday
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MILITARY helicopters dropped emergency supplies yesterday to thousands of tourists and pilgrims stranded by flash floods that tore through towns and temples in northern India, killing at least 138 people, officials said.
Thousands of people have already been evacuated after floods and landslides caused by early monsoon rains devastated the region in the Himalayan foothills, they said.
"As of now we know that over 65,000 people are stranded," Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said in New Delhi.
"We are committed to rescuing everyone now that the rains have stopped," the minister said, adding the army has evacuated 5,000 people cut off by the downpour.
Torrential rains at least three times as heavy as usual have hit the state of Uttarakhand, often called the "Land of the Gods," where Hindu shrines and temples built high in the mountains attract many pilgrims.
"At least 110 people have died. The state government and the army are trying to rescue thousands of tourists who are stranded near the submerged valleys and Hindu shrines," said Yashpal Arya, the disaster relief minister of Uttarakhand.
At least 28 other people have been killed in the neighboring states of Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, officials said.
Authorities fear the death toll could rise, with emergency workers still unable to reach marooned villages, particularly in worst-hit Uttarakhand, five days after the rains hit.
Houses, multi-storied buildings, cars, bridges as well as roads have been swept away or damaged after rivers burst their banks, forcing authorities to deploy 22 helicopters to evacuate people and drop essential food and other supplies.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and president of the country's ruling Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, will fly over the disaster area to survey the extent of the damage.
Tourists have been traveling to Uttarakhand to see sites before they close for the monsoon season, which does not usually start for another two weeks.
Thousands of people have already been evacuated after floods and landslides caused by early monsoon rains devastated the region in the Himalayan foothills, they said.
"As of now we know that over 65,000 people are stranded," Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said in New Delhi.
"We are committed to rescuing everyone now that the rains have stopped," the minister said, adding the army has evacuated 5,000 people cut off by the downpour.
Torrential rains at least three times as heavy as usual have hit the state of Uttarakhand, often called the "Land of the Gods," where Hindu shrines and temples built high in the mountains attract many pilgrims.
"At least 110 people have died. The state government and the army are trying to rescue thousands of tourists who are stranded near the submerged valleys and Hindu shrines," said Yashpal Arya, the disaster relief minister of Uttarakhand.
At least 28 other people have been killed in the neighboring states of Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, officials said.
Authorities fear the death toll could rise, with emergency workers still unable to reach marooned villages, particularly in worst-hit Uttarakhand, five days after the rains hit.
Houses, multi-storied buildings, cars, bridges as well as roads have been swept away or damaged after rivers burst their banks, forcing authorities to deploy 22 helicopters to evacuate people and drop essential food and other supplies.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and president of the country's ruling Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, will fly over the disaster area to survey the extent of the damage.
Tourists have been traveling to Uttarakhand to see sites before they close for the monsoon season, which does not usually start for another two weeks.
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