Cloudburst In Uttarakhand: 1 Dead, Several Missing In Chamoli District

One person has been killed and many are missing after a cloudburst hit Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Friday night, causing debris to sweep through homes and buildings.

Heavy rainfall since late evening has caused massive destruction in Chamoli district's Tharali region. The cloudburst late Friday night buried several vehicles under debris in Radibagad and Chepado.

Chamoli ADM, Vivek Prakash told ANI: "... There has been a lot of damage due to the flash floods. A 20-year-old woman named Kavita has been buried, and a man named Joshi is missing. NDRF and SDRF teams moved to the spot last night. The road has been blocked due to the floods and people are facing a lot of problems. The administration is engaged in relief work. Apart from this, we have set up relief camps. The District Magistrate has left early in the morning and has reached the spot, and relief work is going on there."

Due to a cloudburst in Tharali of Chamoli district, debris has entered houses, the market, and the SDM's residence. District Magistrate and relief teams have left for the spot. Two people are reported missing, Uttarakhand Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman told PTI.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, in a post on X, said, "Late last night, a tragic report of a cloudburst was received in the Tharali area of Chamoli district. The district administration, SDRF, and police have reached the spot and are engaged in relief and rescue operations. In this regard, I am in constant contact with the local administration and am personally closely monitoring the situation. I pray to God for everyone's safety."

The heavy rains in the last few weeks have caused cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides. It has to be noted that a cloudburst led to flash floods in Uttarakhand's Harsil and Dharali, earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an 'orange' alert for very heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand till August 25.

"Heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely in Bageshwar, Pithoragarh, Nainital, Dehradun on August 23, in Dehradun, Tehri, Uttarkashi, Bageshwar, Pithoragarh on August 24, and in Garhwal Hills and Nainital, Bageshwar, and Pithoragarh on August 25," the weather department stated in its daily bulletin.