At least 50 people are feared missing after a major cloudburst struck the Dharali village in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand on Tuesday, August 5.
A team of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel has been sent to the spot to undertake rescue operations.
The cloudburst took place in the catchment area of the Kheer Ganga River, leading to the devastating floods, locals said. The Uttarkashi Police said that due to the rising water level of Kheer Gadh in the Harsil area, “reports of damage in Dharali have prompted police, SDRF, army, and other disaster response teams to engage in relief and rescue operations at the site.”
About 10-12 people could be buried under the debris, a villager told media, adding that 20-25 hotels and homestays may have been washed away.
Videos from the area showed a torrent of water rushing down, submerging buildings along the path, and people screaming in panic. A tourist spot, the village of Dharali is populated with hotels and restaurants.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places over Uttarakhand on Tuesday.
Torrential downpour has been wreaking havoc in Uttarakhand during this monsoon season, with strong currents flowing through flooded rivers. One person was swept away by strong currents of the Bhakhra stream near Haldwani on Monday, August 4, while two others drowned in a swollen stream near Bhujiyaghat on Sunday, August 3.
In response to the Uttarkashi cloudburst, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Kumar Dhami said, “The news of heavy losses due to cloudburst in Dharali area is extremely sad and painful. SDRF, NDRF, district administration and other related teams are engaged on war footing for relief and rescue operations.”
He further added that, “I am constantly in touch with senior officials in this regard and the situation is being closely monitored. I pray to God for everyone’s safety.”
As Outlook Traveller reported previously, a cloudburst is a sudden occurrence of very heavy rainfall that is usually local in nature and of a brief duration. An event is said to be a cloudburst if rainfall of 10 cm or more falls in an hour over a roughly 10 km x 10 km area.
The phenomenon occurs when warm air currents cause raindrops to remain suspended in clouds until they suddenly fall in a torrent, often accompanied by hail and thunder. Nearly all recorded cloudbursts in the Indian subcontinent have occurred when monsoon clouds from the Arabian Sea have crossed over into the Himalayas.
Cloudbursts are difficult to predict by their very nature, but a Doppler radar system can help. Stations with the technology are still few and far between in the Himalayan states, making forecasting difficult.
During a cloudburst event, the best thing to do is to listen to the advice and warnings of the IMD and local officials, and move to higher ground to minimise the loss of life.
The disaster emergency number in Uttarakhand is 1070.
(With inputs from multiple news reports)