At least 12 feared dead in sudden, heavy rain in Indian Kashmir, official says
Indian rescue teams recover the body of a dead mule after the cloudburst in Dharali village in Uttarkashi district, northern India, on Aug 12.
SRINAGAR, India - At least 12 people were feared dead and more trapped following sudden, heavy rain in Indian Kashmir, an official said on Aug 14.
The disaster occurred in Chasoti town of Kishtwar district, a pit stop on a popular pilgrimage route. It comes a little over a week after a heavy flood and mudslide engulfed an entire village in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.
'The news is grim and accurate, verified information from the area hit by the cloudburst is slow in arriving,' Mr Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of India's federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir, said in a post on X.
Visuals on television showed pilgrims crying in fear as water flooded the village.
Local TV channels said the flood water had washed away community kitchens set up for pilgrims.
A cloudburst, according to the Indian Meteorological Department, is a sudden, intense downpour of over 100mm of rain in just one hour that can trigger sudden floods, landslides, and devastation, especially in mountainous regions during the monsoon. REUTERS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Short thundery showers expected on most days for rest of August
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Short-duration thundery showers are expected over parts of the island between late morning and afternoon on most days for the rest of August. SINGAPORE – Short-duration thundery showers are expected over parts of the island between the late morning and afternoon on most days for the rest of August, said the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) on Aug 15. In its fortnightly weather outlook, MSS said prevailing south-west monsoon conditions will continue in the second half of the month, with low-level winds blowing from the south-east or south-west. On a few days, the passage of Sumatra squalls may bring widespread thundery showers and gusty winds between the pre-dawn and morning. Rainfall for the second fortnight of August is likely to be near average over most parts of Singapore. Daily maximum temperatures are forecast to range between 32 deg C an d 34 deg C on most days, with a few warm and humid nights when temperatures may remain above 28 deg C . Reviewing the first half of August, MSS said short-duration thundery showers occurred over parts of the island on most afternoons. On several days, Sumatra squalls brought widespread thundery showers and gusty winds in the pre-dawn and morning. The highest daily total rainfall for the fortnight was 78.6mm , recorded in Pasir Laba on Aug 13 following widespread showers from a Sumatra squall. The first half of the month also saw several warm days, with the highest daily maximum temperature of 35.8 deg C recorded in Paya Lebar on Aug 2. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Ong Beng Seng fined $30k in case linked to ex-minister Iswaran after judge cites judicial mercy Singapore Why was Ong Beng Seng fined instead of jailed? Key points from the case Asia Sun Haiyan, ex-China ambassador to S'pore, detained for questioning: Sources Life Online travel agencies Klook and make debut at Natas Travel Fair Singapore Jail for drink-driving cop in hit-and-run accident; victim suffered multiple fractures Life How do household bomb shelters in Singapore really work? This broke the record for the highest daily maximum temperature for August, surpassing the previous high of 35.4 deg C recorded in Seletar in 2016 and Admiralty in 2020. Rainfall in the first fortnight was above average in some areas, with Jurong receiving 80 per cent more rain than usual, while Somerset saw 49 per cent below-average rainfall.
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Spain battles 14 major fires with 'unfavourable conditions' expected to fuel more
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Local residents keep watch as a wildfire approaches the vicinity of Villanueva de la Sierra, Zamora, Spain August 14, 2025. REUTERS/Susana Vera MADRID - Spain battled against 14 major fires on Friday as authorities warned of "unfavourable conditions" to tackle fires that have already killed seven people and burned more than 150,000 hectares (579 square miles). A 12-day heatwave and southerly winds meant firefighters were facing another challenging day in one of the worst summers for fires in the past 20 years, said Virginia Barcones, director general of emergency services. "In the western part of the country the situation is extremely worrying," Barcones said on RTVE. In Galicia, several fronts had joined together to form an even bigger blaze forcing the closure of highways and rail services to the region. The national weather agency AEMET warned of extreme fire risk in the north and west of the country, as temperatures expected to reach as high as 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on the north coast were set to add fuel to the flames. "Today will be another very difficult day, with an extreme risk of new fires," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X. Firefighters have been battling to put out wildfires across southern Europe, with the flames stoked by the extended heat wave gripping the region. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Ong Beng Seng fined $30k in case linked to ex-minister Iswaran after judge cites judicial mercy Asia Sun Haiyan, ex-China ambassador to S'pore, detained for questioning: Sources Life Online travel agencies Klook and make debut in Natas Travel Fair Singapore Jail for drink-driving cop in hit-and-run accident, victim suffered multiple fractures Life How do household bomb shelters in Singapore really work? Life Blank canvas: JTC offers black-and-white bungalows for lease at Rochester Park Avincis, the largest operator of emergency aerial services in Spain and Europe, said it had registered a 50% increase from last year in flight hours dedicated to firefighting operations in Spain and Portugal so far this season. A fire near Molezuelas de la Carbellada in the Castile and Leon region that was one of the largest in Spain's history hadn't advanced since Thursday, said Angel Sanchez, head of the region's forest fire service. "We will continue working to stabilise it," he said. REUTERS
AsiaOne
7 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Floods and landslides in Indian Kashmir kill 60, over 100 missing, Asia News
SRINAGAR — At least 60 people have died and more than 100 are missing, a day after sudden, heavy rain caused floods and landslides in Indian Kashmir, authorities and local media said on Friday (Aug 15), the second such disaster in the Himalayas in a little over a week. Gushing mudslides and floodwaters inundated the village of Chasoti in Indian Kashmir on Thursday, washing away pilgrims who had gathered for lunch before trekking up the hill for a popular pilgrimage site. "We heard a huge sound and it was followed by a flash flood and slush. People were shouting, and some of them fell in the Chenab River. Others were buried under the debris," said Rakesh Sharma, a pilgrim who was injured. Bags, clothes and other belongings, caked in mud, lay scattered amid broken electric poles and mud on Friday, as rescue workers used shovels, ropes and crossed makeshift bridges in an attempt to extricate people out of the debris. "We were told that another 100-150 people might be buried under the debris," one rescue worker told news agency ANI. The Machail Yatra is a popular pilgrimage to the high altitude Himalayan shrine of Machail Mata, one of the manifestations of Goddess Durga, and pilgrims trek to the temple from Chasoti, where the road for vehicles ends. Thursday's incident comes a little over a week after a flood and mudslide engulfed an entire village in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. "Nature has been testing us. In the last few days, we have had to deal with landslides, cloudbursts and other natural calamities," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the start of a nearly two-hour speech on the country's 79th independence day. A cloudburst, according to the Indian Meteorological Department, is a sudden, intense downpour of over 100mm of rain in just one hour that can trigger sudden floods, landslides, and devastation, especially in mountainous regions during the monsoon. [[nid:720695]]
