Heavy rains on Sunday continued to batter Uttarakhand claiming 20 more lives and triggering more cloudbursts, landslides and floods that rendered hundreds of people homeless with major rivers flowing above the danger mark.
Seventeen people were still trapped under the debris of landslides and cloudbursts struck villages.
The toll in the rains-related incident like landslides and cloudbursts has touched 39 in the state where rescue and relief works were being hampered due to heavy rains.
The state government has sought the help of Army, ITBP and other paramilitary forces for relief and rescue operation, an official spokesman said.
The Ganga was rising two-three meters above the danger mark at Haridwar inundating several areas of the district with Har-Ki-Pauri submerging completely into the gushing waters.
Similarly, Yamuna, Kosi, Ramganga and other major rivers in the state were flowing above the danger mark with authorities issuing warning to people living close to these rivers to move to safer areas.
Met department also issued fresh warning of landslides and cloudbursts in the next 24 hours in the state.
The worst affected district was Almora in the state where several villages were struck by heavy landslides killing 22 people and trapping 14 others in debris, Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre (DMMC) in Dehradun said.
Eleven people were killed when two houses swept away in the landslips at Balta village of Avalbagh block in the district.
On Saturday, five persons were killed when the landslides at Pilkha village flattened their houses. In the nearby Devali village, a total of 15 persons were trapped in the debris of collapsed houses.
So far, three bodies have been recovered from Devali where two people have also come out alive from the debris.
In Joshiara area of Almora district, two children were killed in heavy rains.One woman lost her life in Dwarahaat area of Almora district.
The district administration has vacated several villages like Kalsima as the landslides struck terror in Almora.
In Nainital district, 8 people were killed in different incidents of landslides and cloudbursts. The worst affected area in the district was Ramola where 4 people were washed away in the cloudburst. All the four bodies have been recovered.
Two people were killed in Haripurdongia village at Roorkee area of Haridwar district.
In the nearby Imbrahimpur village of Roorkee, 5 members of a family including 4 children were buried alive on Saturday.
In Raini-Malari village of Chamoli district, two people were killed in heavy rains.Three people were trapped under the debris in Lansedown area of Pauri district.
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank was monitoring the situation and has asked the administration to quicken rescue and relief operations in the state.
