‘We saved ourselves by sheltering in the jungle at night’ | News from India

DEHRADUN: Shanti Panwar, 45, vividly remembers the night of August 19, when flash floods, triggered by heavy rains, devastated her village in the Raipur area of ​​the Dehradun district. His family members, 15 of them for three generations, had lived together for years in their two-story house. Much of it is now under the rubble.
“At around 11:30 pm, the water started gushing towards our house from the top of the hill. An hour later, it became very strong. We were afraid, especially for our children, and somehow we reached a ground. higher, “said Shanti, a resident of the disaster, which struck the village of Sarkhet near Maldevta, about 20 km from the center of Dehradun.
“It all happened so fast. I was submerged up to my neck. In front of my house, the swollen Song River flowed at a ferocious speed. I could see people shaking with fear,” he said. Rajni PawarShanti’s sister-in-law.
The family had five cows, two of which were washed away and three buried alive. The ground floor is full of debris and the elders have decided to move the children to a relative’s home, Rajni added. None of the houses have been spared from the fury of nature in and around the village of Sarkhet.
Dinesh Kotwal, 40, said he also lost his home. “Two generations of our family lived there. We saved ourselves by sheltering in the jungle at night”, Kotwal added.
For 12-year-old Aanchal Pawar, the loss was double. Not only did he see his house being destroyed by gushing water, but part of his school was also swept away.
About 40 villagers, including children, spent nearly four hours (between 1:00 and 5:00) in the jungle to escape flash floods on the night between Friday and Saturday, villagers told TOI on Monday. village. “The forest actually saved us,” said one of the survivors.
Another resident of Sarkhet, Kuldeep Kumar, 26, said he could barely recognize the village the next morning once the water had receded. While 24 years old Pramila Devi he said: “Sarkhet and Maldevta also saw floods in 2014. I was younger then. But it wasn’t anything like that.”