Uttarakhand cloudburst: Several injured, many missing in Chamoli, Rudraprayag

Several people were left injured and others reported missing after cloudbursts struck Uttarakhand’s Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts on August 29, triggering landslides, officials said.

In Chamoli’s Mopata village, a house and a cowshed were buried under debris, trapping a couple, District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari said. Another couple was rescued in an injured condition from the rubble, he added.

Incessant rain and landslides in Basukedaar area of Rudraprayag district have caused heavy damage in more than half a dozen villages, officials said.

In Dungar village of Chenagadh, some people are missing in the landslide debris and floods.

The same situation has been reported in Jaula-Bhadeth village, where some people are reported missing in the floods.

A house has been damaged in Syur village of the same area while a car parked on the road has been swept away by the the debris. There is flood in the ravines on both sides of Badeth, Bagaddhar and Taljamani villages.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in a post on X said, "Sad news has been received about some families being stranded due to debris falling in the wake of cloudbursts in Badeth Dungar under Tehsil Basukedaar area of Rudraprayag district and Dewal area of Chamoli district." "Relief and rescue work is going on on a war footing by the local administration, I am constantly in touch with the officials in this regard, I have spoken to the Disaster Secretary and District Magistrates and given necessary instructions for effective conduct of rescue operations," he said.

"I pray to Baba Kedar for everyone's safety," he said.

Uttarakhand has been hit hard by natural calamities in the monsoon season.

A devastating flashflood in the Kheer Ganga river on August 5 demolished nearly half of Dharali the key stopover en route to Gangotri with many hotels and homestays, and neighbouring Harsil, where an Army camp bore the brunt of the flood fury, barely giving time to the victims to run to safety.

A total of 69 people went missing, including nine Army personnel, 25 Nepali nationals, 13 from Bihar, six from Uttar Pradesh, eight from Dharali, five from areas close to Uttarkashi, two from Tehri and one from Rajasthan.