Torrents of mud ravage villages in Uttarakhand

Rescue teams were combing the hills of Uttarkashi for survivors on Tuesday after a string of suspected cloudbursts triggered flash floods that swept through a cluster of villages along the banks of the Kheer Ganga river, killing at least four, with dozens still missing.

- Neeraj Santoshi, Ajay Ramola and Jayashree Nandi

The flash flood, which struck around 1.50pm, sent a surge of boulders, debris, and mud barrelling through Dharali, a popular tourist village in the upper reaches of Uttarakhand, demolishing houses, shops, and hotels.

Personnel from the army, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and local police rescued 70 people till midnight, said officials, even as the unceasing rain and treacherous terrain hindered their efforts.

Visuals showed waves of mud and water roaring through the Kheer Ganga river, tearing down trees on either side, before ripping into buildings, power lines and vehicles. Footage on social media showed people desperately running for cover or to higher ground, though the torrents could be seen washing away several.

Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the flash floods had formed a lake, the waters of which were overflowing and endangering surrounding areas. The lake, he said, will be drained to keep people safe.

The hill state has often been ravaged by a string of disasters, with nearly 5,600 killed since 1970 in tragedies sparked by climate change and environmental degradation. A bulk of these have come over the past few years.

In 2013, devastating flash floods in Kedarnath killed 4,127 people, the worst disaster ever recorded in the state. In 2021, a glacier burst that kicked off an avalanche in Chamoli killed over 200.

The weather department has issued a flash flood alert in the region for two days.

According to officials in the Union Jal Shakti ministry, three successive suspected cloudbursts within close proximity of each other in less than three hours kicked off Tuesday's mayhem.