Flash flood warning issued for 11 districts, tourism halted- The Week

Uttarakhand state emergency centre has issued a warning to 11 of its 13 districts over possible flash floods till the evening of Monday. This includes shutting off all tourism activities in high-altitude areas.

The districts that face possible danger include Almora, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital, Pauri Garhwal, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal and Uttarkashi. The India Meteorological Department has warned of surface runoff and inundation that may occur at some ‘fully saturated soils’ and ‘low-lying areas’. There is a similar warning issued for four districts of Himachal Pradesh.

The warning letter instructs that no official should switch off their phone. All police stations and chowkis have been asked to ensure that their wireless communication systems are working.

Officials and elected representatives at various levels, including land revenue officials, village development officials, and gram panchayat officials will have to remain at their place of posting. Similarly, all nodal and other officers of the Incident Response System shall remain on high alert.

The directives also ask all citizens to keep raincoats, umbrellas, helmets, torches with them at all times in their vehicles. In general, people have been advised not to step out of their homes till the warning is in place. While schools have not been shut, they are also to remain on high alert.

Traffic in landslide-prone areas will be moderated. All such equipment that is required to clear landslides is to be kept on hold for such areas. In case any roads get blocked, multiple authorities including the National Highway Authority, the Public Works Department, the Border Roads Organisation and the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana will be pressed into action for swift debris clearance from such roads.

Besides tourism, any unnecessary movement to high-altitude areas shall also remain suspended during the duration of the warning.

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