Uttarakhand floods LIVE: Govt taking all measures, PM Modi tells state MPs

Uttarakhand floods live updates: About 25-35 people are trapped inside a tunnel, and the operation to rescue them is underway

7:25 PM

Govt taking all measures to help Uttarakhand: PM Modi to state MPs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asserted that his government is taking all measures to support the people of Uttarakhand, parts of which were hit by floods following a glacier burst on Sunday, and assured a delegation of state MPs that it is working to further strengthen infrastructure there to deal with any natural disaster in future, PTI report said.

 

According to BJP MP Anil Baluni, a Rajya Sabha member from the state, Modi said that the central government stands with the people of the hill-state in this hour of crisis and is constantly monitoring the ongoing rescue operations. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda were also present at the meeting.

 

Modi said several institutions of the central government, be it the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, National Disaster Response Force, Army or Air Force, are part of the rescue mission and state bodies are also working effectively, according to Baluni.

7:20 PM

ITBP's dog squad in Tapovan rescue operations, 90m tunnel cleared

The ITBP has deployed its sniffer dog squad for rescue operations and the force has so far cleared 90 meters inside the tunnel near Tapovan Dam in Chamoli district, which was damaged after a glacier burst triggered a flash flood in the region, claiming several lives and nearly 150 missing.

 

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which was pressed into the rescue operation soon after the incident took place on Sunday morning, further said that another 100 meters inside the Tapovan tunnel was to be cleared.

 

"At least 90 meters stretch of debris in the tunnel has been cleared till now. ITBP personnel are working hard to clear the rest of the stretch inside the tunnel. Another 100 mtrs believed to be left to be cleared," said the ITBP in a statement. READ ON...

7:10 PM

China conveys condolences to bereaved families of Uttarakhand's flood victims

China on Monday conveyed its condolences and sympathy to the families of the bereaved and the injured in the glacier burst in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, PTI reported on Monday.

 

A portion of the Nanda Devi glacier broke off in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Sunday, triggering an avalanche and a deluge in the Alaknanda river system that washed away hydroelectric stations, leaving at 11 people dead and over 200 missing who are feared dead.

 

We have noted that northern India had a massive flood. We want to express our condolences to the victims and sympathy to the bereaved families and the injured," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing.

6:57 PM

Uttarakhand Floods LIVE: Joint team of ITBP, Army, SDRF, NDRF in Chamoli for rescue operation

6:57 PM

Uttarakhand glacier disaster: Damage to NTPC project may delay its commissioning

The Sunday's avalanche has caused an estimated loss of Rs 1,500 crore to the NTPC's 480 mw Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project and has put a question mark on its scheduled commissioning in 2023 with a huge amount of silt lying at the site, Union Power Minister R K Singh said on Monday.

 

The minister visited Tapovan on Monday to assess the extent of damage at the project site, a day after the glacier burst in Chamoli district.

 

"The project was scheduled to be commissioned in 2023. But there is a question mark now on how long it will take to desilt it as lakhs of tonnes of silt is lying at the project site," Singh told reporters in Tapovan.

6:51 PM

Hanging glacier possibly broke from main part causing damage in Chamoli: DRDO scientist

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist Dr LK Sinha on Monday said that a hanging glacier in Uttarakhand's Chamoli may have broken away from the main glacier which caused damage. Sinha said that DRDO scientists are analysing the data to ascertain the cause of glacier burst.

 

"Our team did an aerial survey of the glacier where the incident took place in Chamoli. Prima facie, it looks that a hanging glacier broke away from the main glacier and came down in the narrow valley," the DRDO scientist told ANI."In the valley, it formed a lake which burst later and caused the damage. The data is being analysed by our scientists in detail and if required, they would again go to get more details." The DRDO scientist further said.

6:30 PM

We're trying to restore road connectivity in the area: Chief Engineer on Uttarakhand flood

6:26 PM

Confusion over what exactly caused Uttarakhand flood: Inter-govt knowledge centre

There is still some confusion as to what exactly caused the flash flood that wreaked havoc in Uttarakhand on Sunday. The vulnerabilities are exacerbated by climate change with risks of glacial lake outbursts, Pema Gyamtsho, Director General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the Kathmandu-based inter-governmental knowledge centre, said on Monday.

 

"Across the globe, so many people have seen visuals of or heard about the flooding event. The visuals are frightening and heartbreaking. This is once again a grave reminder about how our shared mountain region is fragile and vulnerable to a multitude of geological and natural processes. And it is a grave reminder that vulnerabilities are exacerbated by climate change," Gyamtsho said in a statement.

 

At least 202 people are missing while 18 bodies have been recovered so far after a flash flood inundated a power project at Raini village in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, the state government said on Monday.

6:11 PM

All help will be extended to minimise loss of life,aid in relief efforts: PM Modi's message to Uttarakhand MPs

The government and all its institutions stand with the Uttarakhand in this period of calamity, all help will be extended to minimise loss of life and aid in relief efforts, PM Modi's message to Uttarakhand MPs: ANI

6:07 PM

Climate change, Western disturbance, or both? Scientists ponder reasons for Uttarakhand floods

Global warming or maybe a Western disturbance bringing fresh snow that melted could have triggered the inundation in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, experts said on Monday as they scrambled to understand the reasons for the avalanche and floods that wreaked havoc in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, according to a PTI report.

 

Recalling the horrors of the 2013 deluge inthe hill state in which thousands were killed, a part of the Nanda Devi glacier broke off at Joshimath on Sunday, leading to a massive flood in the Alaknanda river system. Till late afternoon Monday, 18 bodies had been recovered and 202 were missing.

 

The Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation is investigating the exact reason for the flooding but there are no clear answers yet for a glacier to have melted in the winter.

5:44 PM

Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat reviews relief and rescue operations following glacier burst

5:38 PM

Glacier burst: How a phone call saved their lives, recount survivors

They had lost hope of survival when one of them found his mobile phone network working, helping them contact the authorities who rescued them from an underground tunnel at Tapovan in Uttarakahnd's Chamoli where flash floods wreaked havoc following a glacier burst, PTI reported.

 

"We heard people screaming at us to come out of the tunnel but before we could react, a sudden gush of water and heavy silt swamped upon us," rescued Tapovan power project worker Lal Bahadur said.

 

He, along with 11 of his other colleagues, was rescued by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) from an underground tunnel in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Monday evening. According to officials, they remained stuck there for about seven hours, from around 10 am to 5 pm, till the last man was evacuated by rescuers.

5:21 PM

PM Modi, BJP chief J P Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah discuss relief efforts over Uttarakhand glacier disaster

5:19 PM

Economic loss to be ascertained in due course, priority to save lives, rehabilitate displaced people: CM

Economic loss to be ascertained in due course, priority now is to save lives and rehabilitate displaced people: Uttarakhand CM Rawat

4:55 PM

Uttarakhand glacier burst aftermath: The story of destruction and survival