Srinagar, Aug 06 - Hundreds of people are feared killed in flash floods triggered by massive cloudbursts that devastated Ladakh region’s main town and surrounding areas late Thursday night.
According to reports reaching here, a massive cloudburst struck the Leh town, 400 Kms from here, around midnight Thursday following torrential rains in the area, triggering flash floods and mudslides.Another cloudburst hit Choglamsar area , 13 kms further north of the town.
Meteorological Department described it a “disastrous weather event” in which “rate of rainfall may be of the order of 100mm per hour.
”While many villages like Sabu, Phyang, Nimoo and Choglamsar were affected, the city bore the maximum brunt of the calamity.
Reports quoting sources said that the death toll could cross over 500 as several far flung villages were yet to be accessed by rescue teams in this high-altitude terrain.
Aamir Ali, Coordinator Disaster Management Kashmir said late Friday night that the death toll by Friday evening had reached 112 with the recovery of more bodies and more than 400 injured were being treated in various hospitals.
He, however said rescue operation was suspended for the night and will resume early Saturday.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will be flown in from Chandigarh to assist the District Administration in rescue operations tomorrow, he said.
Official sources said that the death toll could be much higher as the flash floods swept away mud houses with inmates who were asleep when the calamity struck.
Roads were blocked and all telecommunication links snapped making it difficult to assess the full scale of the damage in remote areas.
Nearly 150 of labourers working for NHPC and camping along the Indus river in Shyong village were reported missing. Officials fear that many huts would have been washed away in the flash floods.
Hundreds of people were reported missing from the Chougham Sar.
The cloudburst hit Choglam Sar at around 2 a.m.
Many people were washed away in sleep with their homes and some of those who managed to run away were carried away by the gushing water later, survivors said.
Authorities said that the Army had suffered losses in Turtuk area. Some of the villages along the Chang La pass, world's second highest motorable road, were also believed to have been washed away in the torrential rains.
An army spokesperson said 6,000 of its personnel were engaged in the relief and rescue operation and helicopters had been pressed into service since foot movement was extremely difficult due to the mudslides and flash floods.
Flash floods have washed away concrete structures, including government offices, paramilitary camps and residential homes in the town.
The headquarters of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam limited (BSNL), a government polytechnic, the ITBP camp, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp, some government offices and residential homes have been extensively damaged.
Strategically located Ladakh has a large presence of the Indian army and is connected to outside world with a difficult mountain road.
The area is a high-altitude desert about 11,500 feet (3,500 meters) above sea level as the Himalayas create a rain shadow, denying entry to monsoon clouds.
Recent flooding in the region has been attributed to abnormal rain patterns.
Ladakh, is a popular destination for Western tourists, particularly hikers, mountaineers and adventure sports enthusiasts. August is peak season with thousands flocking to the area.
Troops have rescued at least 100 foreign tourists, mostly Europeans, from Pang, a village about 120 kilometers northeast of Leh town, army spokesman Lt. Col. J.S. Brar said. No tourist deaths have so far been reported.
All the monasteries in Buddhist-dominated Leh town were reported safe. KONS/Agencies
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