Forecast of more heavy rain in Uttarakhand, Char Dham Yatra disrupted

Moderate to heavy rain and thundershowers are likely at some places in Uttarakhand from the evening of 15^th till 18^th July, 2014. Very heavy rain is also expected at some places.

This was our alert given for Uttarakhand on 12^th July and the weather panned out exactly as we had predicted. Heavy rain is being observed in the state since yesterday. In a span of 24 hours from 8.30 am on TuesdayNainital received 110 mm of rain, Mukteshwar 79 mm, Pauri Garhwal 68 mm, Champawat 52 mm, Pithoragarh 45 mm, Uttarkashi 37 mm,Mussourie 32 mm, Joshimath 30 mm and Pant Nagar 36 mm of rain.

The weather is expected to remain the same till 18^th July. Moderate to heavy rain will be observed in Uttarakhand during this period. Kumaon region consisting of Pithoragarh, Champawat, Nainital, Almora and Udhamsingh Nagar districts is likely to receive the bulk of the rain.

Meanwhile, high alert has been sounded in the state. The Char Dham Yatra has been disrupted due to landslides on the Rudraprayag-Gaurikund highway and the 22 km long Sonprayag-Kedarnath trek in Rudraprayag district. In the next 2-3 days, good amount of rain (30-65mm) is expected on the Char Dham route and Hemkund Sahib.

It was during the beginning of the Char Dham Yatra on 16^th June 2013 that very heavy rain and cloudburst caused severe flooding in the state. About 5000 people including pilgrims were killed in this calamity.

Twelve out of thirteen districts in Uttarakhand bore the brunt of the fury. Rudraprayag, Chamoli Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh were the worst affected districts. The Kedarnath Temple, one of the famous temples of Lord Shiva and part of the Char Dham Yatra was also damaged.