Woman missing, 28 villages inundated after cloudburst in Uttarakhand

A woman went missing and 28 houses in Khotila village in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district were inundated after a cloudburst triggered a flashflood in the Kali river in the early hours of Saturday, officials said.

The cloudburst occurred past midnight in Bangabagar village across the India-Nepal border, causing a flashflood in the Kali river whose raging waters mixed with debris gushed into 28 houses in Khotila, a village on the Indian side of the border, Pithoragarh District Magistrate Ashish Chauhan said.

One woman went missing in Khotila village but there are no reports yet of any casualties, he said.

The affected area on the Nepal side received 132.2 mm of rain, the DM said.

Pithoragarh District Disaster Management Officer Bhupendra Singh Mahar said some animals belonging to the villagers have also been lost.

The administration of the border town of Dharchula is running rescue operation on the spot with the help of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and police personnel, Mahar said.

The extent of the losses will be known after some time, he said.

The Kali river flows between India and Nepal.