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Rescue teams were combing the hills of Uttarkashi for survivors on Tuesday after a string of suspected cloudbursts triggered flash floods that swept through a cluster of villages along the banks of the Kheer Ganga river, killing at least four, with dozens still missing.
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The flash flood, which struck around 1.50pm, sent a surge of boulders, debris, and mud barrelling through Dharali, a popular tourist village in the upper reaches of Uttarakhand, demolishing houses, shops, and hotels.
Personnel from the army, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and local police rescued 70 people till midnight, said officials, even as the unceasing rain and treacherous terrain hindered their efforts.
Visuals showed waves of mud and water roaring through the Kheer Ganga river, tearing down trees on either side, before ripping into buildings, power lines and vehicles. Footage on social media showed people desperately running for cover or to higher ground, though the torrents could be seen washing away several.
Also Read | 9 army personnel missing in Uttarkashi district flash flood
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the flash floods had formed a lake, the waters of which were overflowing and endangering surrounding areas. The lake, he said, will be drained to keep people safe.
The hill state has often been ravaged by a string of disasters, with nearly 5,600 killed since 1970 in tragedies sparked by climate change and environmental degradation. A bulk of these have come over the past few years. In 2013, devastating flash floods in Kedarnath killed 4,127 people, the worst disaster ever recorded in the state. In 2021, a glacier burst that kicked off an avalanche in Chamoli killed over 200.
The weather department has issued a flash flood alert in the region for two days.
According to officials in the Union Jal Shakti ministry, three successive suspected cloudbursts within close proximity of each other in less than three hours kicked off Tuesday’s mayhem.
Also Read | Deaths, destruction and horrific visuals: Uttarkashi cloudburst in 5 points
The first was around 1pm over Dharali village, when the sudden rains pushed the Kheer Ganga over its banks, sending water gushing towards the hulking Bhagirathi river. Dozens of people had congregated in the village for a local festival, said officials.
Then, around 3pm, another suspected cloudburst event was reported at Sukki top, between Harsil and Gangnani villages, sending a fresh burst of muck into the Bhagirathi.
Within half an hour, a third suspected cloudburst near an army camp in Harsil village, triggered another flash flood, with between eight and 10 personnel reported missing. The floods also submerged a helipad that defence personnel would have used for aerial evacuations and rescue operations.
Reports indicated that the debris had blocked the Bhagirathi river.
Sukki village is about 60km away from Uttarkashi town. The army camp at Harsil is about 14.5km northeast of Sukki. However, Dharali village, 7km east of Harsil, bore a brunt of the damage.
Also Read | Horrific video shows people running, being washed away in Uttarakhand cloudburst
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Uttarakhand got widespread rainfall, with an average of 30.6 mm — 134% above normal — across all 13 districts in the last 24 hours.
To be sure, the closest weather office in the region is in Dehradun. Officials there said they were unable to confirm whether the floods were triggered by a single weather event or three separate events or even if they are actually cloudbursts.
IMD defines a cloudburst as an extreme weather event where a small area experiences a sudden and intense rainfall, typically exceeding 100mm (four inches) in an hour.
“We have received a status report from the Jal Shakti ministry which says that a suspected cloudburst is likely to have triggered the disasters. IMD had also issued an orange alert for Uttarkashi. We are assessing three probable scenarios. One, there was a cloudburst in the catchment of Kheer Ganga. Second, there was prolonged rainfall in the upper reaches of Western Himalayas that saturated the soil and water could not percolate any further. Third, there are 13 large glacial lakes in Uttarakhand and this may be an ice-rock avalanche from one of those lakes. This needs deeper analysis. We will also check if infrastructure played a role in the post disaster assessment depending on the need,” said Dipali Jindal, senior consultant at the National Disaster Management Authority.
Uttarkashi disaster management officer Shardul Gusain confirmed that four bodies were recovered.
“We have received reports of four fatalities. Rescue teams from the district administration, police, SDRF, and the army have been deployed to the site and rescue operations are ongoing,” Gusain said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences.
“I have spoken to Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami ji and obtained information about the situation. Under the supervision of the state government, relief and rescue teams are engaged in every possible effort,” he said on X.
SDRF media in charge Vineet Devrani said, “Rescue teams from SDRF posts in Bhatwadi and Gangotri reached the incident site in the evening. They said 60 to 70 people have been rescued from the disaster affected area and taken to safer places. Other SDRF teams are on the way and will reach the affected area soon”.
SDRF commandant Arpan Yaduvanshi said rescue operations are underway in Harsil valley. “Our top priority is saving lives,” Yaduvanshi said.
Union home minister Amit Shah spoke to Dhami and ordered the dispatch of seven rescue teams to assist the affected people.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh added that the Centre and the state government are working in tandem, taking all possible measures to save lives.
Dhami, who was in Andhra Pradesh, cut short his trip to return to Dehradun.
“The loss of lives and property in Uttarkashi is tragic. I have instructed the district administration to ensure swift and coordinated rescue and relief operations,” he said in a statement.
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