Uttarakhand: Indian Meteorological Department issues orange alert, predicts heavy rain

•The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on August 29, 2021, issued an orange alert for Uttarakhand for the next 48 hours. The state has been receiving intermittent rains causing waterlogging and landslides.

•More than 200 roads including 5 National Highways (NH) and 15 state highways have been blocked in Uttarakhand due to heavy rains, stated the Disaster Management Department (DMD).

•IMD has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfalls in Dehradun, Nainital, and Pauri, along with Champawat, Tehri, and Pithoragarh to receive heavy rainfalls.

•On August 27, 2021, Maldevta Sahastradhara Link road got submerged in water with the Asan river overflowing due to heavy rains in Dehradun. The Ranipokhari Rishikesh road was also closed due to the collapse of the bridge over the Asan river.

Orange alerts are issued as a warning for 6 cm to 20 cm of rains in 24 hours with potential disruption in transport and power supply. Yellow alerts indicate 6 to 11 cm of rainfall in a day that could worsen over coming days. Green alert means no warning.