At least four people have died and several others are feared trapped under debris after flash floods struck northern India, officials said on Tuesday. Dramatic footage on local television showed powerful floodwaters rushing down a mountain and tearing through Dharali, a village in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.
The sudden flooding destroyed homes, swept away roads, and levelled parts of a local market. Nearly a dozen hotels have been washed away and multiple shops have collapsed,” said administrative officer Prashant Arya. He added that rescue operations are underway, with teams from the Indian army and police searching for the missing.
India’s National Disaster Management Authority said it had asked the central government to send three helicopters to support rescue and relief efforts, as teams faced difficulties reaching the remote area.
Officials have not yet confirmed how many people are missing or trapped. The country’s weather department has warned of more heavy rainfall in the region over the next few days.
As a precaution, authorities have ordered schools to stay closed in several districts, including Dehradun and Haridwar. Cloudburstssudden, intense rainstorms over small areas are becoming more frequent in Uttarakhand, a Himalayan region that often sees flash floods and landslides during the monsoon season.
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