Flash floods swallow Indian village, at least four dead, over 50 missing
Teams from army and disaster response forces had reached the area, local authorities said, with workers trying to rescue people trapped under debris and sludge, authorities added.
TV news channels showed water, mud and debris surging down a mountain, sweeping away homes and a road.
The mudslide cleaved through Dharali village, burying some houses, according to a video update shared by the state chief minister's office.
"A massive mudslide struck Dharali village in the KheerGad area near Harsil, triggering a sudden flow of debris and water through the settlement," the Central Command of the Indian Army said in a post on X.
Uttarakhand is prone to floods and landslides, which some experts blame on climate change.
At least 200 people died in 2021 when flash floods swept away two hydroelectric projects in the state.
There are about 10,000 glaciers in the Indian Himalayas, and many are receding due to the warming climate.
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The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Pakistan flooding: Electricity and roads restored following floods that killed 300
Pakistan has restored 70 per cent of its electricity supply and reopened key roads in the northern and northwestern regions, following flash floods that claimed the lives of over 300 people. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed that engineers are continuing efforts to fully reinstate the power grid, which was severely impacted by last week's deluge. He added that the clearing of most routes is now facilitating the crucial delivery of food and other essential supplies to the devastated areas. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered authorities to accelerate recovery efforts in Buner, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where torrential rains and a cloudburst Friday killed at least 280 people, Tarar said. Monsoon rains triggered floods that killed more than 700 people nationwide since June 26, the National Disaster Management Authority reported, while Tarar said more than 25,000 people have been evacuated. Army spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif said military doctors are treating survivors and engineers are repairing damaged infrastructure. Troops using helicopters also have delivered food and supplies to remote villages cut off by floods and landslides. Last week's flooding in Buner was among the worst since the rains began late last month. Search teams aided by army sniffer dogs are still combing the district for about 150 missing people, rescue official Mohammad Suhail said. The tragedy has been compounded by controversy, after a senior politician blamed locals for the high number of fatalities, suggesting people should have constructed their homes elsewhere. Provincial chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur said on Sunday that many of the deaths could have been avoided had residents not built homes along waterways and riverbanks. He added that the government would encourage displaced families to relocate to safer areas, where they would be assisted in rebuilding their homes. That sentiment has been met with anger from villagers, who accuse officials of failing to issue timely evacuation warnings. They highlighted the absence of broadcasts from mosque loudspeakers, a traditional method for alerting communities to emergencies in the region. Officials said the cloudburst struck so suddenly that warnings could not be delivered. Authorities have warned of a possible repeat of Pakistan's catastrophic 2022 floods, which killed nearly 1,700 people and were blamed on climate change.
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
Why cloudbursts have killed hundreds in Pakistan and India this monsoon season
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Massive, sudden downpours of rain known as cloudbursts have struck Pakistan and India during this monsoon season, killing hundreds of people in the flash floods and landslides they have triggered. By a widely accepted definition, a cloudburst means more than 100 mm (4 inches) of rainfall in one hour, over a small area. This year, the monsoon, which originates in the Bay of Bengal and then sweeps westwards across northern India to Pakistan every summer, has brought deadly cloudbursts. Weather studies say cloudbursts typically occur in South Asia when warm, monsoon winds, laden with moisture, meet the cold mountain air in the north of India and Pakistan, causing condensation. With a warming planet, the monsoon has hotter air, which can carry more moisture. India's weather department data shows cloudbursts are most common in the Himalayan regions of Indian Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Fahad Saeed, a senior climate scientist at Berlin-based Climate Analytics, said that in the mountains of northern Pakistan, the warm monsoon system coming from the east was meeting colder air coming from the west, from the subtropical jet stream - a high-altitude weather system that originates in the Mediterranean. Global warming is pushing this jet stream further south in summer, he said, where it can now combine with the lower-level clouds of the monsoon in Pakistan, forming a tower of clouds which then generatesg intense rain. Similar intense rainfall, though triggered by different local factors, takes place around the world, such as the floods in Texas in July, when more than 300 mm of rain fell in less than an hour, sending a wall of water down the Guadalupe River. This monsoon season has so far seen at least four major deadly cloudbursts, including in Uttarakhand, India, where video captured the moment when village buildings were swept down a mountain, and in Buner, in the Hindu Kush mountain range in Pakistan, where more than 200 people died after at least 150 mm of rain fell within an hour. S D Sanap, a scientist with the India Meteorological Department's Pune office, said such cloudburst events were becoming more frequent in the western Himalayas, which run across India and into Pakistan, but pinning the rise on a single cause was not easy. The cloudburst events on both sides of the border were triggered the same way: very moist monsoon air, upslope winds, and storms that stalled over valleys, said Moetasim Ashfaq, a weather expert based in the U.S. If a cloudburst happens over flat land, the rainfall spreads over a wide area, so the impact is less severe, said Pradeep Dangol, a senior hydrology research associate at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, based in Nepal. But in steep mountain valleys, the rain is concentrated into narrow streams and slopes, with the potential to trigger flash floods and landslides, he said. Forecasting such events days in advance is nearly impossible, though radars can track the build-up of dense cloud formations and give short-term warnings of intense downpours, Sanap said. To strengthen monitoring, the India Meteorological Department has installed new radars across the Himalayas and set up observatories aimed at improving early warnings and understanding of these extreme weather events. Syed Muhammad Tayyab Shah, who leads risk assessment at Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, part of the government, said that it was possible to warn about the general area but not possible to pinpoint the exact location in advance where a cloudburst will happen.
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Pakistan restores electricity and reopens roads in areas where floods killed over 300
Pakistan restored 70% of electricity and reopened damaged roads in the country's north and northwest after flash floods killed more than 300 people, officials said Tuesday. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told a news conference that engineers were working to fully restore the electricity system that was knocked out by flooding last week. Most roads have been cleared, facilitating the supply of food and other essential items to flood-affected areas, he said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered authorities to accelerate recovery efforts in Buner, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where torrential rains and a cloudburst Friday killed at least 280 people, Tarar said. Monsoon rains triggered floods that killed more than 700 people nationwide since June 26, the National Disaster Management Authority reported, while Tarar said more than 25,000 people have been evacuated. Army spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif said military doctors are treating survivors and engineers are repairing damaged infrastructure. Troops using helicopters also have delivered food and supplies to remote villages cut off by floods and landslides. Last week's flooding in Buner was among the worst since the rains began late last month. Search teams aided by army sniffer dogs are still combing the district for about 150 missing people, rescue official Mohammad Suhail said. Buner residents accused authorities of failing to issue timely evacuation warnings and community elders said no alerts were broadcast from mosque loudspeakers, a traditional warning system in remote areas. Officials said the cloudburst struck so suddenly that warnings could not be delivered. Authorities have warned of a possible repeat of Pakistan's catastrophic 2022 floods, which killed nearly 1,700 people and were blamed on climate change.
