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IMD issues red alert for flash floods, cloudburst risk in Uttarakhand, week after Dharali disaster

IMD issues red alert for flash floods, cloudburst risk in Uttarakhand, week after Dharali disaster

NEW DELHI: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has raised a red alert, cautioning against an imminent threat of flash floods across the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Bihar and Sikkim in eastern India, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the south and some parts of Maharashtra. It has asked people to remain vigilant over the next 24 hours as nature prepares to unleash fury.
IMD's caution applies to Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Lahul and Spiti, Mandi, Shimla, and Sirmaur districts in Himachal and Almora, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Champawat, Dehradun, Nainital, Pauri Garhwal, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal, and Uttarkashi districts in Uttarakhand.
The weather office has alerted the Himalayan states, including the Jammu region, of extremely heavy rainfall up to 210 mm in the next day and heavy rain in the next 6-7 days.
Satellite imagery shows scattered to broken intense convective clouds over Uttarakhand and also around Uttarkashi, which may cause cloudburst-induced flash floods.
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