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Before & after photos show Uttarakhand village devastated by flash flood
Visuals show almost entire village of Dharali, dozens of buildings, either washed away or buried under debris as local stream saw a sudden rise after cloudburst
Pictures from before and after a cloudburst showed the scale of devastation in Dharali village near the holy spot of Gangotri in Uttarakhand.
The photos showed almost the entire village — dozens of buildings — either washed away or buried under debris as a local stream saw a sudden rise in water level after a cloudburst.
Hotels, restaurants and homestays were among the buildings washed away.
A 16-member Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) team has reached Dharali from its 12th battalion stationed at Matli in Uttarakhand, while another unit of the same strength has also been asked to rush to the cloudburst site, officials said.
Senior officials were at the State Disaster Operations Centre in Dehradun to monitor the rescue and relief operations, ANI reported.
Several videos of the terrifying moments have emerged, including one that shows people running on a road before being consumed by a massive flash flood.
Video | People seen running, being washed away in Uttarakhand cloudburst
Dharali is a village of less than 1,000 of local population, but strategic for being one of the last stops on NH-34 that goes to the Hindu holy site of Gangotri.
It is next to the Bahgirathi river, and several streams pass through or around the village that merge into the river.
Bhagirathi, originating from Gangotri, is considered the source stream of the river Ganga.
