Heavy rains, landslides hamper rescue efforts in northern Indian state, dozens missing
Teams of army and disaster force rescuers struggled to reach Dharali village, a popular tourist spot that serves as a pit-stop before climbing to the Hindu pilgrimage town of Gangotri, as landslides blocked a major highway and heavy rain continued to pelt the region, local media and authorities said.
"The number of missing persons is unknown, however the relief efforts have continued through the night. We are trying to rescue people and take them to safety," Harshavardhan, an army colonel leading rescue efforts, said in an X post shared by the Indian army.
The army camp in Harsil, four km (2.5 miles) from the flooded village of Dharali, was also hit by flash floods and eleven army personnel were missing, NDTV news channel said.
"Additional army columns along with tracker dogs, drones, logistic drones, earthmoving equipment, etc have been moved ahead to supplement the resources at Harsil to hasten the efforts," the army's central command said in a post on X.
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.
Uttarakhand is prone to floods and landslides, which some experts blame on climate change.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
37 minutes ago
- The Independent
Pakistan's deadly monsoon floods were worsened by global warming, study finds
Heavy rainfall that triggered floods in Pakistan in recent weeks, killing hundreds of people, was worsened by human-caused climate change, according to a new study. The study by World Weather Attribution, a group of international scientists who study global warming's role in extreme weather, found that rainfall from June 24 to July 23 in the South Asian nation was 10% to 15% heavier because of climate change, leading to many building collapses in urban and rural Pakistan. Pakistan's government has reported at least 300 deaths and 1,600 damaged houses due to the floods, heavy rain and other weather since June 26. Saqib Hassan, a 50-year-old businessman in northern Pakistan, said flooding on July 22 destroyed his home and 18 of his relatives' homes, along with their dairy farms. His farm animals were washed away, resulting in heavy losses — likely 100 million rupees ($360,000) — for him and his family. Last-minute announcements from a nearby mosque were the only warning they got to evacuate their homes in the small town of Sarwarabad and get to higher ground. 'We are homeless now. Our houses have been destroyed. All the government has given us is food rations worth 50,000 rupees ($177) and seven tents, where we've been living for the past two weeks,' Hassan told The Associated Press over the phone. Heavy rains cause series of disasters High temperatures and intense precipitation worsened by global warming have accelerated the pace of recent extreme weather events faster than climate experts expected, said Islamabad-based climate scientist Jakob Steiner, who was not part of the WWA study. 'In the last few weeks, we have been scrambling to look at the number of events, not just in Pakistan, but in the South Asian region that have baffled us," he said. "Many events we projected to happen in 2050 have happened in 2025, as temperatures this summer, yet again, have been far above the average,' said Steiner, a geoscientist with the University of Graz, Austria, who studies water resources and associated risks in mountain regions. Heavy monsoon rains have resulted in a series of disasters that have battered South Asia, especially the Himalayan mountains, which span across five countries, in the last few months. Overflowing glacial lakes resulted in flooding that washed away a key bridge connecting Nepal and China, along with several hydropower dams in July. Earlier this week, a village in northern India was hit by floods and landslides, killing at least four people and leaving hundreds missing. The authors of the WWA study, which was released early Thursday, said that the rainfall they analyzed in Pakistan shows that climate change is making floods more dangerous. Climate scientists have found that a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, which can make rain more intense. 'Every tenth of a degree of warming will lead to heavier monsoon rainfall, highlighting why a rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is so urgent,' said Mariam Zachariah, a researcher at the Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London and lead author of the WWA study. Extreme weather's impact on Pakistan Even though Pakistan is responsible for less than 1% of planet-heating gases in the atmosphere, research shows that it incurs an outsized amount of damage from extreme weather. Pakistan witnessed its most devastating monsoon season in 2022, with floods that killed more than 1,700 people and caused an estimated $40 billion in damage. According to the United Nations, global funds set up to deal with loss and damages because of climate change or funds set up to adapt to climate change are falling well short of the amounts needed to help countries like Pakistan deal with climate impacts. The U.N. warns that its loss and damage fund only holds a fraction of what's needed to address yearly economic damage related to human-caused climate change. Similarly, U.N. reports state that developed countries such as the United States and European nations, which are responsible for the largest chunk of planet-heating gases in the atmosphere, are providing far less than what's needed in adaptation financing. These funds could help improve housing and infrastructure in areas vulnerable to flooding. The WWA report says much of Pakistan's fast-growing urban population lives in makeshift homes, often in flood-prone areas. The collapsing of homes was the leading cause of the 300 deaths cited in the report, responsible for more than half. 'Half of Pakistan's urban population lives in fragile settlements where floods collapse homes and cost lives,' said Maja Vahlberg of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, who also helped author the WWA report, in a press statement. "Building flood-resilient houses and avoiding construction in flood zones will help reduce the impacts of heavy monsoon rain." ___ Arasu reported from Bengaluru, India. ___ ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Journalist missing in Norway survived six nights in wilderness with leg injury
Rescuers in Norway have found the award-winning environmental journalist Alec Luhn alive after he went missing in the remote Folgefonna national park and survived nearly a week alone in the wilderness with a serious leg injury. Luhn, a US-born reporter who has worked for the New York Times and the Atlantic and was a regular Russia correspondent for the Guardian from 2013 to 2017, was reported missing on Monday after he failed to catch a flight to the UK from Bergen. Luhn, 38, had been holidaying with his sister in Norway and set out on a four-day hike alone on 31 July from the outdoor centre of Ullensvang, on the northern edge of the park, a 550 sq km wilderness in the west of Norway that is home to one of the country's biggest glaciers. At a press briefing from Haukeland hospital in Bergen, the head of the air ambulance service and trauma centre, Geir Arne Sunde, said Luhn had hurt himself on the evening he set out. 'He is seriously injured, but not critically injured,' he said. Rescue teams found Luhn at 11.34am local time on Wednesday, the Norwegian Red Cross said. 'He has managed in the mountain in very bad weather for five days, without much food or drink,' Sunde said. 'He has been very lucky.' 'I can't remember us finding someone alive after so many days,' said Stig Hope, head of the operations leadership team at Folgefonna and a Red Cross volunteer. 'The search doesn't always end like this – but today, it did. It's a huge relief for everyone who's been part of the effort.' A volunteer search and rescue team from the Red Cross, police, dogs, specialised climbing teams and drones were all involved in looking for him. The operation had to be suspended late on Monday night and then again on Tuesday owing to rapidly deteriorating weather conditions, including heavy rainfall. Sunde said Luhn had heard the helicopters searching for him for several days before one of them finally spotted him. Luhn's sister Drew Gaddis confirmed in a social media post that he had been found 'in overall good health' and was being transported to Bergen by helicopter. She thanked the Norwegian police, the teams of staff and volunteers involved and the thousands of people who had helped share news of the search. 'We can breathe again!' she said. Veronika Silchenko, Luhn's wife, told the Verden Gans newspaper: 'We are very, very happy. Many thanks to everyone in Norway who has helped find him.' Among numerous awards, Luhn has two Emmy nominations. He was based for many years in Moscow, then Istanbul, and now lives in the UK where he specialises in climate journalism and is a Pulitzer Center Ocean Reporting Network fellow. Folgefonna, the third largest icecap in Norway, is on a peninsula famed for its fjords, mountains, rivers, lakes and icefalls. It has been a centre for wilderness adventure since the 19th century. Parts are desolate and can be treacherous, especially in poor weather.
BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
Bridlington RNLI warns paddleboarders after two swept out to sea
Lifeguards have issued safety advice to water sports enthusiasts after rescue crews responded to reports of two paddleboarders swept out to RNLI said the paddleboarders had been blown away from the beach at Barmston in East Yorkshire on pair tied their boards together to stay safe in the choppy water and attempted to paddle back to shore, but one of their oars had broken. Emergency crews responded shortly before 14:00 BST and brought them back to shore in under an hour. Volunteer Sarah Berrey said: "Thankfully, on this occasion no harm came to both paddleboarders, who despite having correctly tethered themselves together, had the misfortune of an oar breaking and made progress almost impossible."The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has urged paddleboarders to always check the weather and tide conditions before heading out to charity also advised staying with your board and calling 999 for the coastguard in an emergency. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
