All the helicopters were taken off the air in Badrinath and Joshimath areas of Uttarakhand because of heavy rain this morning, screeching the rescue operations to a halt due to poor visibility and drenching of makeshift landing strips.

Rescue and relief operation sources fear that if the rain continued, the evacuation of the remaining 22,000 people will become difficult.

The weather department has predicted torrential rain after a moderate spell today. Even the escort rescue work will have to be suspended in case of nonstop rain to avoid fatal slips and casualties due to landslides.

However, relief work is going on at Kedar valley with help of choppers. According to official sources in Dehradun, 83 thousand people have been evacuated from the affected areas of the State so far.