Cloudbursts, landslides in Uttarakhand: 6 dead, 11 missing as flash floods tear through several districts

Cloudbursts, landslides in Uttarakhand

Heavy rains and multiple cloudbursts battered several districts of Uttarakhand early Friday, leaving six people dead, 11 missing, and dozens displaced as landslides and flash floods swept through homes and villages. According to the regional meteorological centre, the state recorded nearly 369% excess rainfall in the past 24 hours, causing widespread destruction.

Bageshwar district was the worst-hit, logging nearly 2,000% excess rainfall with 84 mm against a normal of just 4 mm. Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri and Bageshwar bore the brunt of the downpour, while Dehradun and other parts also reported deaths and damage.

According to a report by news agency PTI, the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) said overnight rainfall triggered landslides in Pausari gram panchayat in Kapkot area of Bageshwar, damaging half a dozen homes. Two women, identified as Basanti Devi and Bachuli Devi, lost their lives, while Basanti Devi’s son was rescued in an injured condition. Her husband Ramesh Chandra Joshi and two other villagers, Girish and Puran Joshi, remain missing.

In Chamoli’s Mopata village, a house and a cowshed were buried under rubble, killing a couple, 62-year-old Tara Singh and his wife Kamla Devi. At least 25 livestock also went missing.

In Rudraprayag district, continuous rains caused havoc in Basukedaar and nearby villages. Three cloudbursts were reported, leaving one woman, Sarita Devi, dead in Jakholi. Eight others went missing in Chenagad area, four of whom have been identified as Sate Singh Negi, Kuldip Singh Negi, Neeraj and Raj.

Dehradun too reported a tragedy. The body of a 10-year-old boy was found in the Bindal River on Friday after he slipped and fell into it the previous evening. In Syur village of Rudraprayag, a house was damaged while a car parked nearby was swept away. Flooded ravines caused panic in several villages, forcing dozens of families to move to higher ground.

Videos from Rudraprayag showed State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams using ropes to rescue stranded villagers, some precariously crossing raging streams. Inspector General Arun Mohan Joshi said about 70 people were evacuated from Taljaman and Kund villages.

Roads blocked, rivers in spate, red alert issued

Apart from human loss, infrastructure has taken a heavy hit. Landslides in Tehri’s Budha Kedar area damaged livestock sheds, small temples, and farm fields. In Genwali village, a house courtyard and toilet were swept away. A protective wall built by the irrigation department last year also collapsed. With continuous rains swelling the Balganga, Dharmganga and Bhilangana rivers, panic has gripped the locals. Large potato fields too were buried under rubble.

The Badrinath National Highway is closed in multiple stretches across Chamoli, including Nandprayag, Gulabkoti and Pagalnala. In Rudraprayag, the Badrinath route is blocked at Sirobgadh, while the Kedarnath highway has been disrupted at four locations between Banswara and Kund-Chopta. Authorities have appealed to pilgrims heading to Char Dham shrines to travel only after checking updates from police and district administrations.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a video conference with district magistrates of the affected areas, directing them to speed up relief and rescue operations. The Met department has issued a red alert for Bageshwar, Chamoli, Dehradun and Rudraprayag districts for the next 24 hours, warning of more heavy to very heavy rains. An orange alert has also been sounded in Champawat, Haridwar, Pithoragarh, Udham Singh Nagar and Uttarkashi.