At least forty-one people have died in northern India, swept away by floods and landslides triggered by several days of heavy rains, according to a new report announced Tuesday, October 19, by the authorities.
Indian meteorological services further extended their alert on Tuesday and forecast rains “Strong” To “Very strong” in the region for the next two days. In places, more than 400 mm of water fell on Monday.
The authorities of the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand announced that landslides had killed thirty-five people, having already killed six people the day before.
Five members of the same family were notably buried in their house, said a local manager, Prateek Jain. Five other victims were killed in a landslide that occurred in Almora district in northern Uttarakhand and engulfed their home under rocks and mud.
Closure of schools
Due to weather warnings, authorities have ordered schools to be closed and banned all religious or tourist activity in the state.
Images broadcast by television channels and circulating on social networks show residents making their way through the water that reaches their knees near the tourist site of Lake Nainital, or the Ganges which overflows in the city of Rishikesh .
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More than a hundred tourists have been stranded in Ramgarh due to the flooding of the Kosi River, which inundated several localities.
Landslides regularly hit the northern Himalayas of India, but their number is increasing, experts say, due to global warming, melting glaciers, construction of hydroelectric dams and deforestation.
In February, a flash flood devastated the Rishi Ganga valley, in Uttarakhand, killing some two hundred people. Only about sixty bodies were found.
Heavy rains expected in the coming days
According to the weather forecast, heavy rains are also expected to hit, in the coming days, the southern state of Kerala, where floods have already killed more than 27 people since Friday.
Many dams in this tourist state were close to the alert level, rivers overflowed, and authorities evacuated thousands of people. After a brief respite on Tuesday, heavy precipitation is expected again over the next two days.