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A cloudburst in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district on Tuesday afternoon left at least four people dead and over 50 missing including eight to ten soldiers, as rescue teams from the Indian Army scrambled to reach affected areas cut off by landslides and surging water.
A second cloudburst was reported hours later from Sukhi Top, a popular tourist spot in the same region.
The first incident occurred in the Harsil area, near the catchment of the Kheer Ganga river.
Eyewitness videos circulating on social media showed houses and structures being swept away by the gushing water. Officials said around 40-50 houses were washed away in the deluge.
DIG of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Mohsen Shahedi, confirmed that more than 50 people were missing. “Three teams of NDRF were sent to the spot,” he said, adding that each team comprises 35 well-equipped personnel. “A large-scale rescue operation will have to be carried out there,” he added.
State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the Indo Tibetan Border Patrol (ITBP) have also been deployed. Indian Army troops from the Ibex Brigade were mobilised from the Harshil camp, located just four kilometres from Dharali village. “Approximately 15-20 people have been evacuated and injured are receiving medical treatment at the Army medical facility in Harshil,” the Army confirmed.
“Troops of #Ibexbrigade were immediately mobilised and have reached the affected site to assess the situation and undertake rescue operations. Extent of damage is being ascertained and updates will follow as relief operations unfold. The Army stands resolute in support of our citizens during this natural calamity,” the Indian Army’s Surya Command posted on X.
The Indian Army also shared pictures of rescue efforts on social media.
A second cloudburst was reported from Sukhi Top, another tourist destination near Dharali. Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey confirmed the incident. “No loss of life was reported from the spot, but due to the cloudburst, the water level in the river increased drastically,” he said.
Roads in the Gasku and Malghat areas on the Dharchula-Gunji route were closed due to landslides, and NDRF teams evacuated stranded travellers. The Chamoli police also reported that the Jyotirmath-Malari motor road had been washed out near Saldhar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah said they had spoken to Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and assured all possible support from the Centre.
Experts have long warned that Uttarkashi and regions like Kedarnath Ghati are highly vulnerable to extreme weather events. Geographical disaster expert D.N. Joshi told PTI: “A cloudburst happens when heavy rainfall occurs in a short span of time. These incidents happen mostly in hilly areas... Meteorological departments issue warnings.”
“We often hear about such incidents, and therefore, we should take shelter at a higher place whenever such situations erupt,” he said.
A 2023 study by researchers from IIT Jammu and the National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, highlighted how Uttarakhand experiences among the highest cloudburst incidents per unit area across the Indian Himalayas.
The study published in the International Handbook of Disaster Research defined cloudbursts as sudden rainfall in the range of 100–250 mm/hour over a limited area, often as small as one square kilometre.
According to the India Meteorological Department, rainfall exceeding 100 mm/hour with strong winds and lightning across 20-30 square kilometres qualifies as a cloudburst.
The flash floods in Uttarakhand have brought back memories of the 2013 Kedarnath flood disaster. The 2013 Kedarnath disaster, considered the worst calamity to have hit India since the 2004 tsunami, claimed over 6,000 lives and stranded more than 100,000 pilgrims and tourists.
