Deadly ‘cloudburst’ mudslide engulfs Indian village

Lucknow, India: Surging floodwaters and a torrent of mud swept through a village in the northern Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, killing at least four people while more than 50 others were missing, authorities and local TV channels said on Tuesday.

Teams from army and disaster response forces had reached the area, local authorities said, with workers trying to rescue people trapped under debris and sludge.

TV news channels showed floodwaters and mud surging down a mountain and crashing into the village, sweeping away houses and roads as people ran for their lives.

The mudslide cleaved through Dharali village, burying some houses, according to a video update shared by the state chief minister’s office.

Four people were killed and many more had been rescued so far, Uttarkashi district administrator Prashant Arya told local media.

“A massive mudslide struck Dharali village in the Kheer Gad area near Harsil, triggering a sudden flow of debris and water through the settlement,” the Central Command of the Indian Army said in a post on X.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to those affected and said teams were making every attempt to provide assistance.

Uttarakhand, part of the seismically active and ecologically fragile Himalayan belt, is highly susceptible to extreme weather events during the monsoon season.

“The news of heavy damage caused by a cloudburst in the Dharali (Uttarkashi) region is extremely sad and distressing,” Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a post on X.

Cloudbursts – sudden intense downpours over a small area – are rare, but have become more frequent and intense in recent years, driven by climate change. The region’s steep terrain, unplanned construction and deforestation amplify the risks, often turning heavy rainfall into flash floods and landslides.

Floodwaters and mud surged down the mountain, crashing into the village, and sweeping away houses.Credit: AP

Several districts of Uttarakhand received “extremely heavy” rainfall in the 24-hour period through early Monday, the India Meteorological Department said in a bulletin. More precipitation and thunderstorms are forecast over the Western Himalayan region during the next seven days, it said.

At least 200 people were killed in 2021, when flash floods swept away two hydroelectric projects in the state.

There are about 10,000 glaciers in the Indian Himalayas, and many are receding due to the warming climate.

Last year, deadly floods triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rains in the southern Indian state of Kerala killed more than 150 people.

Experts blamed the scale of the disaster not only on the intensity of the rainfall but also on weak project planning, including unregulated real estate development and poor infrastructure. The incident exposed the risks of ignoring environmental safeguards in regions increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather.

Reuters, Bloomberg

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