After Uttarakhand, Flash Flood In Himachal, Landslide Shuts Shimla Highway

  1. According to officials, the cloudburst - somewhere in the catchment area of the Kheer Ganga river - occurred at around 1.50am and the sudden gush of floodwaters, slush and rubble buried at least half the village. 
  2. Videos from the area showed a torrent of muddy water and silt tearing through the slopes towards settlements along the banks of the river. People could be heard screaming in fear. Contiguous buildings, including three and four-storey houses, fell like a pack of cards as the surging waters washed over them. 
  3. According to Uttarkashi District Magistrate Prashant Arya, at least four people have died so far. There was no official confirmation on the number of people who went missing after the flashflood. 
  4. Dharali was not the only village to be hit. The raging waters flowed down two different sides of the same hill, one towards Dharali and the other towards the village of Sukki, according to state Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman. A red alert is still in place in Uttarkashi. 
  5. At least 11 Army jawans are reported missing from an army camp in Harsil that was also hit by a cloudburst. 
  6. The army, police, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force are engaged in the rescue operations. NDRF teams from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were also airlifted to the hill state. Helpline numbers have been issued by the state government and district administration. They are: 01374222126, 01374222722 and 9456556431.
  7. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday spoke to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and ordered the dispatch of seven rescue teams to assist the affected people. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the Centre and the state government are working in tandem, taking all possible measures to save lives.
  8. Incidents of cloudbursts and heavy rains were also reported in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur, with a bridge over the Tanglig drain being washed away. 
  9. The National Highway 35 near Nigulsari in Kinnaur has been shut in view of heavy rainfall and landslides in the area. The Chandigarh-Shimla National Highway has also been closed due to landslides at Chakki Mor in Shimla. The highway has been closed due to debris falling at Chakki Mor near Parwanoo in Solan district. 
  10. Cloudbursts are counted as among the most devastating natural disasters in the Indian Himalayas, causing an enormous amount of rainfall across a limited area within an extremely short span of time. According to the India Meteorological Department, rain falling at a rate of over 100 millimetres an hour with strong winds and lightning across 20-30 square kilometres of area is termed a cloudburst.

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