Cloudburst in Uttarakhand's Chamoli, 10 missing, houses washed away

At least 10 people are missing after a cloudburst triggered by torrential rain struck Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district. As a result of the heavy debris flow, six buildings were reduced to rubble. A team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has reached the affected area to carry out search and rescue operations.

The incident took place late Wednesday night in Nanda Nagar. While two people were rescued from the debris, a medical team and three ambulances are being rushed to the affected area.

If the 10 missing people, six were reported in Kuntri Laga Phali village, two in Sarpani and two in Dhurma. The oldest person is aged 75 years and the youngest are two boys aged 10. Adverse weather conditions are hampering the search and rescue operations, with the weather department forecasting more heavy rain in Chamoli.

According to locals, several people are still trapped in their homes as a result of the cloudburst. Just four days ago, a cloudburst in the state capital Dehradun killed at least 13 people and washed away roads, and damaged homes and shops. Two major bridges collapsed, cutting multiple routes connecting the city to other surrounding areas.

The state government has issued a red alert for Dehradun, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar, warning of extremely heavy rain and the risk of further fatalities, landslides, and infrastructure collapse through September 20.

So far, 15 people remain missing across the state, with more than 900 others stranded. On Wednesday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that focus was on the swift restoration of essential services.

“Our effort is to repair the damaged infrastructure and restore road and power connectivity at the earliest,” PTI news agency quoted Dhami as saying. He also highlighted that 85 per cent of the damaged power lines have been restored, and the rest will also be done in a day or two.

Besides Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh also witnessed flash floods and landslides after heavy rain struck parts of the hill state this week. Three people were killed as a result of the rain-triggered disasters.