A devastating cloudburst hit Uttarakhand’s Dharali village, washing away buildings, homes, hotels, trees, vehicles and more…
According to Associated Press, at least four people are dead, and many more missing and trapped under the fast flowing mudslide of slush, rubble and water.
Reportedly, the lower part of Dharali village is completely swept away, said an official to a national newspaper.
Tourism Hit Hard
Dharali is a picturesque village on the way to Gangotri Dham, attracting a lot of tourists every year. Many of the small hotels and homestays, incidentally, are either gone or trashed in the flash flood that caught the entire village unawares. With over a dozen places hit, tourists and locals are displaced.
Right now, rescue teams from the SDRF, NDRF, and the Indian Army are working non-stop. Horrifying visuals of the disaster have flooded the internet – rooftops underwater, cars flipped over, and just tons of junk everywhere in the main part of Dharali. People who saw it say it was like a wall of water crashing through the village.
Not the First Time
Incidentally, this isn’t new for Uttarakhand. The region gets hit hard by bad weather, especially during monsoon season. Experts think climate change and too much construction in sensitive areas are making things worse.
Deforestation, building on riverbanks, and not having good warning systems are adding to the trouble.
Heads Up: More Rain Coming
The India Meteorological Department says there’s a red alert for heavy rain in Uttarakhand until August 10. People have been asked to avoid travel. A bunch of pilgrimage routes are closed for now, and they’ve set up shelters in Harsil, Uttarkashi, and nearby spots.
