Signing you in

The worst of the casualties were reported from Almora and Dehradun. In Almora district alone, the rain-related death toll rose to at least five after separate wall-collapse incidents, while in Dehradun two people died after a car was swept away by a rain-swollen current. With the India Meteorological Department issuing weather alerts, schools and anganwadi centres were closed in some districts as a precaution and disaster response teams remained on alert.

In Odyuda village in Almora's Havalbagh block, three people were killed after the walls of a house collapsed around 3 am. The deceased were identified as Prema Devi, 42, Kalpana Arya, 19, and Manish Kumar, 18. Gulab Ram, who was sleeping in a room outside the main house, escaped safely.

After receiving information, the administration and rescue teams rushed to the spot. An SDRF team led by Sub-Inspector Pankaj Dangwal reached the site from the Sariyapani post and joined the operation. Officials said the team had to proceed on foot after finding the road blocked by debris about three kilometres before the site. Carrying rescue equipment, the personnel coordinated with local residents, the Fire Service and district police to search the rubble and recover the bodies. The bodies were handed over to the district police and sent for post-mortem.

In another incident in Almora town, two Nepalese labourers were killed after a wall of an old house collapsed in the Dharkituni area. The District Control Room received information about the incident at 11.36 am on Tuesday. SDRF personnel launched a rescue operation, cleared the debris and retrieved the two men, but both had already died. Their bodies were handed over to the district police. The deceased, believed to be around 30 and 35 years old, were of Nepalese origin and their identities were still being established.

These incidents took the rain-related death toll in Almora district to at least five, with incessant rainfall since Monday night triggering several disaster-related incidents.

In Dehradun, a car was swept away by a strong current near Kandoli Bridge on Poundha Road in the Lower Kandoli area under the Prem Nagar police station limits late on Monday night. Two women and a man were travelling in the vehicle. An SDRF team from Dakpathar, led by Assistant Sub-Inspector Suresh Tomar, launched a search and rescue operation after receiving information, and continued through the night despite bad weather and strong currents.

During the search, one of the women, Sahaj, was found injured about two kilometres from the spot and handed over to the police. The bodies of Akshay, a 20-year-old resident of Jaipur, and the other woman were also recovered and handed over to the police for further action.

The Dehradun-Mussoorie highway was among the worst affected by the heavy rain. Debris and boulders blocked the road at Pani Wala Bend, while repeated landslides and damage to safety nets installed by the Public Works Department further narrowed the roadway and hampered the movement of vehicles.

The heavy rain also caused rivers and streams to swell in different parts of the state. In Rishikesh, the Bin river flowed over an already overflowing causeway. In Haldwani, the Gaula river also saw a rise in water levels after incessant rainfall. Haldwani recorded 192 mm of rain in the 24 hours ending Tuesday, underlining the intensity of the downpour.

Elsewhere, sewer water flooded Nainital's Mall Road. In Ramnagar, the water level in Belgarh nala on the Ramnagar-Haldwani state highway rose sharply after heavy rainfall late on Monday evening, disrupting traffic and leaving long queues on both sides of the road, with several vehicles stranded for a considerable period. A three-wheeler was also swept towards an overflowing stream in Ramnagar and was pulled to safety by members of the public.

Amid continuous rainfall, the IMD issued an orange alert and schools and anganwadi centres across Bageshwar district were closed as a precaution. Bageshwar District Magistrate Apoorva Pandey said reports of landslides and shooting stones had been received from several parts of the district. She said the administration was closely monitoring the situation and urged residents to stay away from ghats, rivers, streams and other disaster-prone areas, avoid unnecessary travel and report emergencies immediately.

A red alert was issued for Nainital and Almora, while an orange alert remained in force for most other parts of the state. In view of the warning, authorities in Nainital, Almora and Bageshwar ordered schools for Classes 1 to 12 to remain closed. Disaster management teams stayed on alert as authorities and departments worked to reopen roads affected by landslides and rain-related damage.

Heavy rain across Uttarakhand left at least seven people dead, disrupted key roads and raised water levels in rivers and streams, with Almora and Dehradun reporting the fatalities. As weather alerts remained in place, rescue and relief teams continued operations and authorities worked to restore movement on roads hit by landslides and debris.- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 1, 2026 22:46 IST