Midnight Cloudburst Wrecks Uttarakhand Town, One Dead, One Missing

A devastating cloudburst struck Tharali town in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district late Friday night, unleashing chaos across the region. Torrential rains triggered landslides and flash floods that damaged homes, shops, and roads, leaving one young woman dead and another person missing.

The worst-hit areas include Tharali Bazaar, Kotdeep, and the tehsil complex, where parked vehicles were buried under mud and debris. In Chepdon market, the destruction was so severe that many local shopkeepers lost everything overnight.

Rescue teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local administration rushed to the scene, launching emergency relief operations. Panic gripped residents, forcing many to flee their homes in the middle of the night. Police have been deployed to maintain order and assist with evacuations.

This tragedy follows a similar disaster in Chashoti village, Jammu and Kashmir, where a previous cloudburst caused a deadly flash flood. A four-foot-high torrent of mud and stone swept through low-lying areas, killing at least 60 people and injuring over a hundred.

The recurring nature of these disasters underscores the urgent need for stronger early warning systems and climate resilience in vulnerable Himalayan regions.