Lucknow, India — Rescuers are racing against time in the remote Himalayan village of Dharali, Uttarakhand, where powerful flash floods triggered by a cloudburst killed at least four people and left dozens missing, including 11 Indian Army personnel.
The disaster struck Tuesday afternoon, when torrential rains unleashed a wall of water down the steep mountain slopes, sweeping away homes, roads, and a bustling local market. By Wednesday, rescue teams—comprising the Indian Army and the National Disaster Response Force—were combing through debris and sludge to locate survivors.
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“The search for others is still underway,” said Dilip Singh, a senior disaster management official. “So far, we have rescued 60 people and moved them to safety, but poor weather, damaged roads, and the rugged terrain are slowing down our efforts.”
The floods also struck an army base in nearby Harsil, about 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) from Dharali, where 11 soldiers are reported missing. “Conditions are extremely challenging, but our teams are staying put,” said Lt. Col. Manish Srivastava, a defense spokesperson.
The catastrophe is the latest in a series of weather-related disasters that have battered the fragile Himalayan region in recent years. Uttarakhand is particularly vulnerable to sudden, intense cloudbursts during the monsoon season, which often trigger deadly landslides and flash floods.
Geologist S.P. Sati warned that Dharali lies in a highly unstable zone. “This village sits on a ticking time bomb,” he said, citing a history of similar cloudburst events in 1864, 2013, and 2014. In the 2013 Uttarakhand floods, over 6,000 people died and 4,500 villages were impacted.
Experts link the increasing frequency of such events to climate change and unregulated development in the ecologically sensitive region.
“The whole of Dharali village was wiped out,” said local lawmaker Lokendra Bisht, who owns a homestay in the area. “People ran for their lives, but the floodwaters came so fast, there was nothing anyone could do.”
With monsoon rains continuing across the region, authorities fear more such disasters may follow in the coming weeks.
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