Earthquake: An earthquake measuring 3.2 on the Richter scale occurred in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand at around 6:34 pm on Sunday evening. According to the National Center for Seismology, the depth of the earthquake was recorded at 5 km. Earthquake hits the affected state with heavy rain and cloudburst
Cloudburst has caused heavy destruction in Uttarakhand
Earlier on Saturday too, clouds had burst at many places in the state. Officials said Uttarkashi District Magistrate Abhishek Ruhela sought information about the situation from the district disaster control room in the early hours of Saturday. He also spoke to public representatives and inquired about the rain-affected people and damage caused in their respective areas.
Cloudburst wreaked havoc in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi as houses, roads were damaged, forcing residents to shift to safer places.
The Yamunotri National Highway was blocked at several places due to falling debris near Gangnani on Saturday. The situation worsened as heavy rain lashed the area following the cloudburst incident, causing problems to residents and animals.
According to the local people, the cloudburst happened around 2 am on Saturday. He told that the place where he slept was completely washed away in the rain.
The incident caused heavy damage to properties, two colleges and around five hotels were washed away. In Rajtar town, five laborers somehow saved their lives when the wall collapsed due to rain water and debris. The late night cloudburst damaged Nirvana tourist cottages and debris also entered the premises of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Residential School at Gangnani under Barkot tehsil.