Rain fury: Four of a family killed in Uttarakhand

Dehradun: Four members of a family were killed and as many others were swept away in separate incidents of landslides and cloudbursts triggered by heavy showers in Uttarakhand today. State Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre in Dehradun said over a dozen houses were also damaged in these incidents. Four members of a family were killed in their sleep in a slum area in Rajpur road in the city when early morning rains caused a landslide in a nearby hill and boulders fell over their slum flattening it, police said.[caption id=“attachment_999947” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rain woes for those in Uttarakhand continue. PTI[/caption] A 30-year-old labourer Vinod Thapa, his wife Sarita (25), daughter Pooja (7) and son Nishant (2) were killed on the spot, they said. Four persons were swept away in a cloudburst in Kapkot division of Bageshwar district in Kumaon region when four houses collapsed under the impact of heavy rains and their rubble flew down a nearby canal. Kapkot SDM Kailash Singh Tolia, who rushed to the spot, said three persons were rescued alive from the rubble of the damaged houses but four others who were still trapped under the debris seem to have been swept away down the canal. A combing operation is on to trace them, he said. Arounb 125 mm of rains have been recorded in Kapkot division of Bageshwar district in the past 24 hours swelling rivers Saryu and Gomti in the area which are flowing just a few centimetres below the danger mark. Nine houses were damaged in a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Sulat division of Almora district on Tuesday. Two houses were also damaged in cloudbursts at Pipli Dhanadi and Atadi villages in Uttarkashi district where 90mm of rains have been received in the past 24 hours. Landslides have brought debris onto several roads across the state disrupting traffic along them. PTI