NEW DELHI: The Indian army intensified search operations on Wednesday for scores of people missing after deadly flash floods in the Himalayan region.
Sniffer dogs, drones, and heavy earth-moving equipment were deployed to locate survivors in the devastated town of Dharali, Uttarakhand.
At least four people were confirmed dead, while more than 50 remain unaccounted for after the disaster struck.
Torrential monsoon rains continued to hinder rescue efforts, with communication lines severely damaged.
Rescue teams managed to reach stranded individuals, reducing the number of missing from an initial estimate of 100.
“The search for the missing is ongoing,“ said Mohsen Shahedi from the National Disaster Response Force.
Videos showed a terrifying surge of muddy water destroying multi-storey buildings in the tourist-heavy region.
Shahedi confirmed over 50 missing in Dharali, while 11 soldiers were unaccounted for in the nearby village of Harsil.
Additional army units, including tracker dogs and drones, were mobilised to speed up rescue operations.
Military helicopters delivered essential supplies and evacuated stranded residents, though bad weather complicated flights.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami attributed the disaster to an intense “cloudburst” and ordered rescue teams to work “on a war footing.”
Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos as floodwaters engulfed buildings within seconds.
Suman Semwal recounted his father witnessing the flood with a “rumbling noise” before it struck Dharali.
“The flood waters struck them in 15 seconds,“ Semwal told the Indian Express.
Mud deposits up to 50 feet deep buried parts of the town, swallowing entire structures.
Rescue teams worked manually and with machinery to clear debris and reopen blocked roads.
Government weather agencies warned that all major rivers in Uttarakhand were flowing above danger levels.
Residents were relocated to higher ground as water levels continued to rise.
Experts linked the disaster to climate change, noting increasingly frequent extreme weather events.
The UN’s World Meteorological Organization has warned of worsening floods and droughts due to climate disruptions.
Hydrologist Manish Shrestha called the 270mm rainfall in 24 hours an “extreme event” with concentrated impacts in mountainous areas.
“Such intense rainfall events are becoming increasingly common,“ Shrestha said. – AFP