Overview

• Preliminary findings submitted on August 14 attribute the Aug. 5 Dharali flood to landslide-induced outbursts from multiple small upstream lakes, challenging the initial cloudburst theory
• Rescue operations in Dharali remain active with Indian Army columns, NDRF, SDRF and BRO teams deploying helicopters and ground parties to locate 69 missing villagers after six confirmed deaths
• Uttarakhand authorities followed the report’s advice by puncturing Lake Harshil and constructing a parallel channel to safely drain water from newly formed high-altitude lakes
• A separate cloudburst at Chashoti on August 14 killed at least 61 people and left over 80 missing, and another in Kathua on August 17 claimed seven lives, stretching multi-agency relief efforts
• Heavy rains in the western Himalayas have swelled the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej rivers, triggering flood warnings and school closures across six Punjab districts and river alerts in Himachal Pradesh