[rejoycjohn]

Leh flash floods: 50 dead, many missing

Visuals of the same can be seen in the above link .
I was there last year, not able to recognize any place from the visual :-(

[PhrozenFire]

Wow...I was there about 5 days ago. Spent two lovely weeks in Kashmir and Ladakh. This is really sad. Hope they can get the airport re-opened soon. The highway's will definitely take time.

[rkbharat]

Just talked to Vinay who is stuck in Leh, but safe. Situation is much much worst then reported on news. Both Manali-Leh and Srinagar-Leh disconnected. big part of Nimmu village is washed off. Lots of damage in Leh city.

BTW life damage could go upto 800-1000

[hvkumar]

Our friend Vinay is stranded in Leh right now.
No BSNL, no electricity in Leh town, no internet.
BSNL landlines and mobiles are down in Leh.
Airtel was also down.
Vodafone is now working, that was also earlier down.
All hotels BSNL land lines are down.
His Vodafone just got restored,
No SMS working in any mobile network even now.
Main bus stand - the place where you enter Leh town (the arch) is totally destroyed.
Fort Market is closed, maybe in RIP.
Rumours that many '00s are killed.
2 bridges between Kargil-Leh are closed, possibly at Nimmu.
The Chang la is closed.
Manali road is closed.
No news at the moment on when the roads will reopen, talk of 7-10 days.
Those who are in Fort Road and Main Market area of Leh town are all OK.
Some taxi operator who started yesterday from Manali side could not proceed to Leh, had to return to Manali since the road was blockaded. Apparently, there is some landslide in Pang area about which there is no confirmed news.
Rohit/Abhijit in Manali today morning questioned the Leh taxi stand in Manali bazaar, no taxis are going to Leh.

[Indian Ranger]

With so many of BHPians travelling to Leh, I just hope we do not have any casualty. So many friends of us have shown Leh in wonderful manner and it is heartening to see it this way. This is really sad to see so many loosing life in the hands of natures fury.

The link to the new is:
Flash floods in Leh; 59 dead, several missing - India - The Times of India

Hope the missing are traced fast before they breath last and expect the casualty number to stand still at 59 only.

Mods... I missed out seeing another thread on the same topic. Please close this thread.

[ashthedivx]

Indeed a bad news, hope things settle down soon. This is I believe this is the first one in the last 5 years (While I am following Leh trips)

[tsk1979]

Ash, this is the first one in remembered history. 2006 saw some minor flooding in Leh due to heavy rains, but this time multiple cloudbursts happened. Entire old bus stand area has been washed away(houses, buildings etc.,), and many small villages are totally burried under mud.
This is similar to the flash floods which happened in Kinnaur a few years back. Quite a few small villages simply vanished under the onslaught.

[SS-Traveller]

Am told that heavy rains in the upper parts of Garhwal & Kumaon have been causing widespread landslides in that region too. Nothing in the news though.

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Cloud bursts roughly means more than 100 cm of rain an hour. In reality that's heavier than we can possibly imagine.

There must be loads of tourists in Leh now. Hope things come under control soon.

They are not prepared for it up there, they don't have the infrastructure to channel off large amounts of water and the storms hit them at night.

Both the Kargil route and Manali route are closed at the moment due to road/bridge damage. People, tourists had to walk out of some parts of the Manali road 80K to safety....

and every few months I see posts on this site affirming that the roads are safe and you can do them in a Maruti.....

I

[Lightening-Fast]

Thats really sad. Hope things come under control quite soon. Condolences to the departed souls. May peace be with you.

[MileCruncher]

Just saw the news and the toll has crossed 85 and still lots of people missing.

Also heard that a bridge between Nimmu and Leh has got washed away.

Hope the casualty doesn't rise any further and the departed souls RIP.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

and every few months I see posts on this site affirming that the roads are safe and you can do them in a Maruti.....

I

Every year during monsoon season, many parts of the country get floods which kill lots of people. Many such regions have highways etc., which see all kinds of traffic. So flash flood is like a natural clamity. Can strike anywhere, be it mountains or plains. Just like earthquakes. Infact, its the first time such a flood has hit Leh.

[sami316]

Really shocked when saw the news on TV. Couldn't believe when I heard first and only after watching it on TV did I get the confirmation. Prayed for the departed and praying for all the survivors to recover from this Natural disaster at the earliest.

[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

and every few months I see posts on this site affirming that the roads are safe and you can do them in a Maruti.....

I

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Every year during monsoon season, many parts of the country get floods which kill lots of people. Many such regions have highways etc., which see all kinds of traffic. So flash flood is like a natural clamity. Can strike anywhere, be it mountains or plains. Just like earthquakes. Infact, its the first time such a flood has hit Leh.

I agree with Tanveer. This is a natural calamity which can strike anywhere. Oh and by the way I did it in a Maruti.

[navpreet318]

I was actually finalizing my trip to Leh from 15th August onwards on my bullet.Now with these conditions and so many people dead One cannot even enjoy such a trip even if the roads are made safe/ridable again.

RIP to all the departed souls.

These are the ways of nature.