logo
Flash floods in India wash away village, kill four and leave over 50 missing

Flash floods in India wash away village, kill four and leave over 50 missing

Surging floodwaters and a torrent of mud have swept through a village in the northern Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.
At least four people were killed and more than 50 others were missing, authorities and local TV channels said on Tuesday.
Teams from the army and disaster response forces had reached the area, local authorities said, and workers were trying to rescue people trapped under debris and sludge.
TV news channels showed floodwaters and mud surging down a mountain and crashing into the village, sweeping away houses and roads as people ran for their lives.
The mudslide cleaved through Dharali village, burying some houses, according to a video update shared by the state chief minister's office.
Four people were killed and many more had been rescued so far, Uttarkashi district administrator Prashant Arya told local media.
"A massive mudslide struck Dharali village in the Kheer Gad 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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to those affected and said teams were making every attempt to provide assistance.
Uttarakhand is prone to floods and landslides, which some experts blame on climate change.
At least 200 people were killed in 2021, when flash floods swept away two hydro-electric projects in the state.
There are about 10,000 glaciers in the Indian Himalayas, and many are receding due to the warming climate.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

A river turned 'into a monster' in India. Now, rain and blocked roads hamper rescue efforts
A river turned 'into a monster' in India. Now, rain and blocked roads hamper rescue efforts

SBS Australia

time10 hours ago

  • SBS Australia

A river turned 'into a monster' in India. Now, rain and blocked roads hamper rescue efforts

Rescuers have battled heavy rain and blocked roads in India's Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, after four deaths in sudden flooding and landslides the previous day left dozens missing and an entire village submerged under sludge. Teams of army and disaster force rescuers used heavy machinery to shift boulders in the struggle to reach the village of Dharali on Wednesday, where homes and roads were submerged by a flood of water, mud and rocks, media and authorities said. The Indian army said 70 people were brought to safety, while the state's chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, told news agency ANI that about 130 were rescued the previous night. Rescuers used a makeshift zipline to cross a violently gushing river, while others moved rocks and mud with their hands in the hunt for those buried under the sludge, television images showed. "The number of missing persons is unknown. However, the relief efforts have continued through the night," rescue leader Colonel Harshavardhan, from the Indian army, posted on X. "We are trying to rescue people and take them to safety." Dharali, a hamlet of about 200 in the state's Uttarkashi district standing more than 1,150m above sea level, is a tourist spot and pit-stop for Hindu pilgrims climbing to the temple town of Gangotri. Residents of nearby villages heard a loud rumble on Tuesday afternoon before a wall of water crashed into Dharali, media said. "I heard a deafening sound like boulders grinding," Sunita Devi, from the village of Mukha, told the Hindustan Times newspaper. "And then we saw the Kheer Ganga river turn into a monster." Roads to the area have crumbled or been blocked by boulders, making it tough to bring in rescue teams from elsewhere in the state, district administrator Prashant Arya said. The floods also washed away mobile and electricity towers, disrupting connectivity and forcing rescue workers to turn to satellite phones. The rising water level of the Ganga River at Gandhi Ghat triggered flood alarms earlier this week. Source: AAP / Hindustan Times/ Sipa USA Eleven personnel were missing from an army camp in Harsil, four kilometres from Dharali, after it was also hit by flash floods, the NDTV news channel reported. More troops, accompanied by tracker dogs, drones, and earth-moving equipment, are being mobilised for the rescue effort, the army's central command said on X. Uttarakhand is prone to floods and landslides, which some experts blame on climate change. Weather experts and geologists told media the cause of the havoc needed to be investigated in the absence of heavy rain in the area on Tuesday, adding they suspected the reason could be a glacial lake outburst flood. — With additional reporting from the Australian Associated Press

Thargomindah residents still living in caravans months after flood disaster
Thargomindah residents still living in caravans months after flood disaster

ABC News

time12 hours ago

  • ABC News

Thargomindah residents still living in caravans months after flood disaster

Deep in the Queensland outback, families are living in caravans as they try to rebuild their homes four months after catastrophic flooding. Standing in the mud-strewn shell of her home, Megan Riley finds it difficult to talk about it. In April, the entire population of Thargomindah was evacuated to an airstrip as they watched a temporary levee break and a torrent of water swallow the town. Out of more than 100 houses, only 12 were left unscathed. Ms Riley was one of the last people to return to her newly renovated home. She found it ruined. "As soon as I opened the door, I knew it was all gone … it was heartbreaking," Ms Riley said. Four months on, she is living in one of 32 caravans provided by the council and state government. Her house, which belonged to her grandparents, will have to be knocked down. But rather than rebuild, Ms Riley said she would truck in a relocatable house. "The plan is to lift the new house out of the flood line and not experience anything like this again." Local tradesman Geoff Pike runs the only trade services company in Thargomindah and has been working non-stop to rebuild the town since the flood. "We've been slammed … it's been full on," he said. Mr Pike said compared to Brisbane, it generally costs about double to build in Thargomindah due to the cost of getting materials to the site. "You're adding 1,000 kilometres, and it's generally an empty truck on the way back," he said. But Mr Pike said it was not a lack of supplies that was slowing down the town's recovery — it was a critical shortage of accommodation. To help, Mr Pike has coordinated a transportable work camp to be trucked to Thargomindah from Brisbane. He said it would accommodate around 18 workers and significantly speed up the town's rebuild. "We're trying to get in front of that curve and get people into houses before summer hits," Mr Pike said. Queensland's peak building sector body Master Builders said prefabricated and modular houses were becoming more common in rural areas. General manager of policy and advocacy Dyan Johnson said modular homes could help "plug the gap" in traditional construction in the bush. "It really does fit that need of being able to meet … labour and supply challenges because you can centralise your construction a lot more," she said. "If there are not enough trades on the ground, if it is too difficult and time-constrained to get the supplies out there, modular can be a solution." Bulloo Shire Council purchases one transportable house a year to increase housing supply in Thargomindah, costing around $700,000. Mayor John "Tractor" Ferguson estimated a house built from scratch would cost close to $1 million to construct, but would be worth less than $200,000 when complete. "The biggest problem here is all the on-costs: your tradies have got to get here, then they've got to stop here, then you've got freight, and your concrete is so much dearer out here," he said. "Bringing all that stuff out, it nearly doubles the price of the house." In a town without many tradespeople, residents had rolled up their sleeves and gotten to work restoring local businesses. Motel owner Paul Sparks said he did not have a clue where to start when he saw the extent of the flood damage to his business. "We needed new carpets, to rip the floors out, rip the walls out, all the furniture was wrecked, the vanities, the cupboards," he said. "I thought we were just going to go bankrupt." It makes Mr Sparks emotional to remember the weeks following, when friends, family, neighbours, even strangers, gathered to clean up the motel. "The police officers helped pull the beds out and load skips … a young couple helped rip the carpets out … they were such a great help," he said. "The help and the community getting together was fantastic — it's been pretty overwhelming."

Hunter Valley flood victim's body found after days-long search
Hunter Valley flood victim's body found after days-long search

The Australian

timea day ago

  • The Australian

Hunter Valley flood victim's body found after days-long search

A body believed to be that of a missing 26-year-old woman has been found by volunteer rescuers in NSW's Hunter Valley. The Chinese national was swept away on Saturday 2 August after downpours flooded the Hunter Region. The woman was a passenger in a Mini Countryman driven by a 27-year-old woman on Old North Road in Rothbury. Her body was found shortly after 11am on Wednesday morning, said Inspector Justin Cornes from the Hunter Valley Police Department 'Our forensic specialist police along with our detectives are on the scene currently,' he said. 'Our thoughts go out to the family of the missing 26-year-old for what has been and will continue to be an extremely difficult time for them.' On Sunday, Hunter Valley District Commander Superintendent Steve Laksa said both women had tried to get out of the car when it was clear they were stuck, but were swept away 'with the rising and rapidly running causeway waters'. He said both were 'swept into the causeway' but the driver managed to surface and collect her dog, which was in the back seat of the car. The driver made her way to the causeway's bank, while the 26-year-old passenger was pulled further away, and eventually found about 450m from the causeway. The passenger had lived in Australia for three years and worked as an engineer. A large-scale search was launched for the woman involving local police, the Rescue and Bomb Disposal Unit, Marine Area Command, NSW SES, VRA Rescue NSW, and the NSW RFS. It was volunteer rescuers from VRA Rescue NSW who found the body. Rainfall totals as high as 137mm have triggered flash flooding in NSW over the weekend, and the NSW State Emergency Service responded to more than 1455 incidents caused by the severe weather, including more than 100 stuck vehicles. More than 40 flood warnings were issued north of Newcastle, and parts of the Upper Hunter town of Scone were ordered to evacuate immediately due to 'major flooding'. At the time Superintendent Laksa urged people to follow warnings about floodwaters. 'I'd just ask the community to take heed of those warnings and do not enter any waterway,' he said. The body is yet to be formally identified, and a report will be prepared for the coroner. Brendan Kearns Cadet Journalist Brendan Kearns is a cadet journalist with News Corp Australia. He has written for The Australian, the Herald Sun, the Geelong Advertiser, CHOICE, Cosmos, and The Citizen. He won Democracy's Watchdogs' Student Award for Investigative Journalism 2024 and hosted the third season of award-winning podcast Uncurated. He studied as Master of Journalism at The University of Melbourne, before that he worked as a video producer and disability worker. NewsWire An 84-year-old man has died three days after he and his wife, 82, were allegedly assaulted by a man known to them at their home near Wagga Wagga. NewsWire A 'hardworking father' who died at a construction site has been remembered as someone who always put others first.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store