(Reuters) -At least four people were killed and more than 50 were missing after flood waters swept through a village in India’s Himalayan state of Uttarakhand on Tuesday.
Here are similar disasters in the mountain range, which experts have previously blamed on climate change and widespread developmental activities on its slopes.
NOVEMBER 2023
A road tunnel under construction in Uttarakhand caved in, trapping 41 people inside. The men – low-wage workers from some of India’s poorest states – were rescued 17 days later.
Authorities did not give a reason for the structure’s collapse.
OCTOBER 2023
A glacial lake outburst triggered by torrential rain led to devastating floods in India’s northeastern state of Sikkim, leaving at least 179 people dead.
JANUARY 2023
Nearly 200 people were evacuated from their homes in the Himalayan town of Joshimath after hundreds of buildings in the area developed cracks. The unsafe structures were later demolished.
Geologists, residents, and officials blamed rapid construction in the mountains, which they said had weakened the buildings and the land beneath them.
OCTOBER 2021
Unseasonal heavy rain flooded roads and washed away bridges in Uttarakhand, killing at least 46 people.
FEBRUARY 2021
More than 200 people were killed as a flash flood in Uttarakhand swept away two hydroelectric projects and sent water, rocks, and debris surging down the Dhauliganga river valley.
Scientists said the deluge could have been triggered by a large avalanche of glacier ice.
SEPTEMBER 2014
The Himalayan region of Kashmir saw its worst flooding in 50 years as the Jhelum river, which flows from India to Pakistan, surged due to unusually heavy rain.
About 200 Indians and 264 Pakistanis were killed in the incident.
JUNE 2013
A total of 580 people were killed in northern India and nearly 6,000 went missing as flash floods and landslides unleashed by early monsoon rains swallowed houses, apartment blocks, and vehicles.
(Compiled by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
