Woman trapped under debris, man missing as cloudburst hits Uttarakhand's Chamoli

There a possibility of a lot of damage in Chamoli after the cloudburst as debris has entered homes and markets. At least two people are reported missing.

Rescue efforts are underway after a cloudburst struck Chamoli’s Tharali tehsil in Uttarakhand early Saturday morning, with debris entering several houses, officials said, adding that at least one person is missing and a girl is trapped under the rubble.

Cloudburst in Chamoli amid orange alert for rain in parts of Uttarakhand (HT)

The cloudburst around 2 am caused destruction across multiple locations within a kilometre radius of the tehsil headquarters, as water levels in local streams rose sharply, Chamoli district magistrate (DM) Sandeep Tiwari said.

“A person is missing in Chepdo village, while a girl was buried after debris fell on a house in Sagwara village. In Tharali, debris has entered 30–40 houses, and a similar number in Chepdo,” Tiwari said.

He added that roads to Tharali are blocked at several points due to landslides, hampering movement. “The local administration has begun rescue and relief work. Labourers and JCBs have been deployed, and we have requested a helicopter from the state government to mobilise State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) teams from Gauchar,” he said.

Rescue efforts are underway with teams from the tehsil administration, police, District Disaster Response Force (DDRF), and fire department on the ground, while National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and SDRF units are on their way, the release said.