Cloudburst Hits Uttarakhand's Chamoli District, 2 Missing; Rescue Ops On
Rescue teams are searching for a missing girl in Sagwara. Connectivity is disrupted, and residents have been evacuated. NDRF and SDRF are assisting, and the CM is monitoring the relief efforts.
A sudden cloudburst struck Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district late on Friday, sending torrents of debris crashing through homes, markets and government buildings in Tharali. Officials said the Tharali market area and the tehsil complex were buried under thick layers of mud and rubble, with shops, vehicles and even the official residence of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) badly damaged.
In nearby Sagwara village, panic spread after reports that a young girl was trapped under debris inside a collapsed building, while two people have been reported missing. Emergency teams are racing against time to locate the trapped girl and find the missing people.
Residents fled their homes in the middle of the night as fast-moving sludge poured through the streets. Videos from the scene show families wading through knee-deep water inside their damaged houses. Some shops in Chepdon market were also destroyed.
Connectivity in the area has been severely disrupted, with both the Tharali–Gwaldam road and the Tharali–Sagwara road blocked by debris and heavy rainfall.
Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari confirmed extensive damage. “There is a possibility of a lot of destruction due to the cloudburst in Tharali tehsil. Large amounts of debris have buried many houses, including the SDM residence,” he said.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been working at the site since last night, evacuating families and shifting them to safer locations. Police officials said they acted swiftly to alert locals and carry out evacuations despite heavy rain.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed concern and assured people that relief operations were in full swing. “Late last night, a tragic report of a cloudburst was received in Tharali. The district administration, SDRF and police are on the ground carrying out relief and rescue work. I am in constant touch with the local authorities and personally monitoring the situation. I pray to God for everyone’s safety,” he said in a post on X.
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