Latest news with #Himalayanvillage
The Sun
4 days ago
- Climate
- The Sun
At least 56 dead & dozens missing after Himalayan flash flooding sweeps through towns leaving them caked in mud
AT least 56 people have been killed and dozens more are missing after flash floods tore through a remote Himalayan village in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Officials said sudden, torrential rains triggered the disaster in Chasoti, Jammu and Kashmir – the last vehicle-accessible stop on the popular pilgrimage route to the Machail Mata temple. 8 8 8 The flood struck around 11.30am local time on Thursday, destroying the main community kitchen where more than 200 pilgrims were gathered for lunch, as well as a security post, cars, and motorbikes. 'A large number of pilgrims had gathered for lunch and they were washed away,' one official told Reuters. Initial estimates suggest at least 80 people remain missing, with more feared trapped under debris, Sky News reports. Rescue teams have brought around 200 people to safety, but at least 50 of them are badly injured and receiving treatment in local hospitals. 'Army, air force teams have also been activated. Search and rescue operations are underway,' said Ramesh Kumar, the divisional commissioner of Kishtwar district. Local resident Abdul Majeed Bichoo, 75, said he saw the bodies of eight people being pulled from the mud. Chasoti, he said, had become a 'sight of complete devastation from all sides.' He added: 'It was heartbreaking and an unbearable sight. I have not seen this kind of destruction of life and property in my life.' Footage showed terrified pilgrims wading through rising water as it surged through the village. The pilgrimage, which began in July and was due to end on 5 September, has now been suspended. At least 31 nursing home residents left to drown in horror China floods - as Xi's officials make chilling admission 8 8 India's deputy science and technology minister Jitendra Singh confirmed the flooding was caused by a cloudburst – a sudden downpour of more than 100mm of rain in an hour – which is becoming increasingly common in the Himalayas. Omar Abdullah, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said on X: 'The news is grim and accurate, verified information from the area hit by the cloudburst is slow in arriving.' Prime Minister Narendra Modi said 'the situation is being monitored closely' and offered his prayers to 'all those affected by the cloudburst and flooding.' The tragedy comes just over a week after a similar deluge wiped out an entire village in India's Uttarakhand state. Meanwhile in China, record-breaking floods have killed at least 38 people and forced more than 80,000 from their homes. Torrential downpours battered swathes of northern China late July, including the capital Beijing, in what locals described as a 'once in a hundred years' deluge. 8 8 Dramatic footage showed streets transformed into raging rivers, murky floodwater swallowing homes, cars and highways, and uprooted trees piled high in devastated towns. Beijing's Miyun district, northeast of the city centre, was the worst-hit, with spillways at the Miyun Reservoir roaring at their highest levels since its construction in 1959. Nearby Huairou and Fangshan districts were also inundated, while more than 130 villages have lost power. In the neighbouring city of Tianjin, over 10,000 people were evacuated, and in Hebei province a landslide killed eight people in a village near Chengde, with four still missing. On social media, residents posted anxious messages about being unable to contact loved ones in the mountainous Xinglong county. Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged officials to prepare for 'worst-case scenarios' and speed up the relocation of residents in danger zones. The government has pledged 350 million yuan (£42m) for disaster relief in nine affected regions, plus a separate 200 million yuan for Beijing alone. 8
Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
India flash floods: Dozens believed to be trapped under rubble as at least 11 soldiers reported missing
Rescue teams are working to find dozens of missing people after flash floods struck a Himalayan village in northern India. At least four people have been killed and buildings swept away after intense rains rushed down narrow mountains into Dharali, a mountain village in Uttarakhand state, on Tuesday. Local official Prashant Arya said that around "a dozen hotels have been washed away and several shops have collapsed". Conditions 'extremely challenging' - defence spokesperson Four bodies have been recovered as of Wednesday, as army and disaster force teams were still searching for dozens believed to be trapped under rubble. Dilip Singh, a disaster management official, said the "search for others is still under way" but added that adverse conditions, damaged roads and rough terrain were hampering rescue efforts. Pushkar Singh Dhami, the chief minister of Uttarakhand state, told the ANI news agency that around 130 people were rescued by Tuesday night. He added that army helicopters were on standby to provide supplies to those stranded. Meanwhile, at least 11 army soldiers were reported missing from a camp in nearby Harsil after the floods. Defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Srivastava said that the "conditions are extremely challenging, but our teams are staying put". Village 'wiped out,' says local politician Lokendra Bisht, a local politician who runs a homestay in the area, told the Associated Press that the flood waters came so fast that "there was nothing anyone could do". He added: "The whole of Dharali village was wiped out." Geologist SP Sati also told the press agency that the village "sits on a ticking time bomb" and "is in a highly fragile zone". Read more from Sky News: Sudden and intense downpours - known as cloudbursts - have become increasingly common in Uttarakhand state. The Himalayan region, in India's far north, bordering Nepal and China, is already prone to flooding and landslides in the monsoon season. Experts say cloudbursts have increased in recent years, partly due to climate change, while damage from the storms also has increased because of unplanned development in mountain regions. Dharali experienced similar flooding in 1864, in 2013 - when more than 6,000 people died across northern India after a cloudburst event - and in 2014.
