Dehradun Cloudburst Today News Live Updates: Early restoration of damaged roads, power lines priority, says Uttarakhand CM Dhami

Around 2,500 tourists were stuck in Mussoorie on Wednesday as the road from Dehradun to the popular hill station remained closed for the second consecutive day following cloudbursts and heavy rain in the capital. According to officials, an alternative Bailey bridge is being erected at Kolhukhet, and it is likely to become operational for light vehicles by Wednesday night.

The Dehradun-Mussoorie route was breached at several points, prompting police to appeal to tourists and visitors to stay wherever they were -- whether in hotels, homes or homestays -- till the road was restored.

"Debris has been partially cleared from two points along the route, but installation of an alternative bridge at Kolhukhet may take a little more time," a police officer in Mussoorie said. At present, there are around 2,500 tourists stuck in Mussoorie due to the disruption of the route, he said.

PTI

The monsoon has been quite active this season. The northwestern region of the country has been quite wet, especially in the last month and a half (see box).

During this time, consecutive rain-bearing low-pressure systems — formed in the Bay of Bengal — have travelled farther north than normal, causing intense rainfall in the region.

As a result, the northwestern region recorded 34% surplus rainfall in August. For the season (June-September) so far, the region has received more than 30% surplus rainfall. During the first half of September, rainfall has been more than 67% above normal.

The impact of extreme rainfall varies according to geography. For instance, 300 mm or more of rainfall over 24 hours is not unusual for some places in Goa, Konkan, coastal Karnataka, Kerala, or Meghalaya. However, rainfall of this magnitude is a recipe for disaster in the Himalayas, especially the western Himalayas spanning Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh.

In mountainous regions, favourable conditions can help the air rise swiftly, which leads to the formation of massive clouds with steep heights. These overgrown, rain-bearing clouds can, in turn, cause higher-than-normal precipitation locally over the hilly region. This represents the typical climate pattern of these mountainous areas.

For instance, Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir recorded 630 mm of rainfall (in 24 hours) on August 27. This is equivalent to an entire year’s rainfall in Rajkot, Gujarat. Leh in Ladakh received 59 mm in 48 hours between August 24 and August 26, a record since 1973. Leh usually receives just about 0 to 5 mm in August, with the highest 24-hour rainfall of 16 mm (August 8, 2018) and 12.8 mm (August 4, 2015).

Priyanka Bisht had been trying to find a way to reach Dehradun since Tuesday, after her husband Mukesh’s creatinine blood level shot up. Mussoorie resident Mukesh, a kidney patient, had to undergo his biweekly dialysis on Tuesday. The duo got into a car and drove till they reached Galogi, where they had to turn back due to road closures on the way from Mussoorie to Dehradun.

On Wednesday, Mukesh was one of the 12 patients at the ITBP helipad in Mussoorie waiting to be airlifted.

Mukesh has been undergoing dialysis at Krishna Medical Centre in Dehradun since 2023, when he was diagnosed with kidney failure. At the helipad on Wednesday were 10 patients with kidney diseases and two awaiting surgeries. “We have not been able to get on a flight because of the inclement weather. His blood parameters are not looking good, and it gets worse as the treatment gets delayed,” said Priyanka.