Leh cloud burst! Flash floods kill 44; Leh completely cut off

sudev · 6th August 2010, 08:50

Breaking news of heavy flooding in Leh town today morning. The airport is also cut off from the town.!!

Many people from the forum are touring or planning to tour Leh area - use caution!!

Hope all is well with T-BHP members.

Cloudbursts take 14 lives in Leh

Covered by almost all TV channels

pramods · 6th August 2010, 09:20

The latest I saw was 100 people dead [NDTV], the complete city is almost a river, BSNL office and city hospital area is most affected.

-Pramod

Wanderer78 · 6th August 2010, 09:52

The last I saw on NDTV was 100 people dead and even the main petrol pump flooded.
People who plan to visit the area in near future, please take care and plan accordingly.

suman · 6th August 2010, 10:31

OMG, this is scary

. Something that I hadn't even considered to be a remote possibility in Leh!

lohithrao · 6th August 2010, 10:40

Thats bad! am afraid the casualty will be more then 100 but lets hope its not...

happy.tripathy · 6th August 2010, 10:57

Manali Leh highway has been closed due to the cloud burst. Any T-BHPians doing a Leh ladkah trip this time? Hope all is well with them.

Rudra Sen · 6th August 2010, 11:05

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.

v&v · 6th August 2010, 11:17

Its really bad. As per now both ways Kargil - Leh and Manali - lah closed. BSNL network down. Hope none of Team-Bhp members stuck there.

Archish · 6th August 2010, 11:28

A series of cloudbursts have left 44 persons dead and over 300 injured in the frontier Leh town of Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir [ Images ] on Friday.

An army spokesman in Srinagar [ Images ] said 6,000 army troopers have been rushed to the ravaged area for rescue and relief efforts.

"Army helicopters are engaged in the rescue mission as pedestrian movement in Leh town is impossible due to massive land and mudslides triggered by the bursts and flash floods that followed," Lieutenant Colonel J S Brar told rediff.com.

A senior police officer said massive cloudbursts struck the town at approximately midnight, triggering flash floods and mudslides. So far, 44 bodies have been recovered from the debris and over 200 injured victims have been rushed to the hospital for treatment.

He said the state-owned BSNL headquarters, along with its installations at Leh, were completely destroyed, causing total disruption of the communication network.

"The old and new bus stands, scores of houses, an Indo-Tibetan border police camp, a central reserve police force camp, a police camp and a government polytechnic have been extensively damaged in the flash floods and mudslides in Leh town," a senior police officer said.

He said hundreds of jawans of the state police have also joined the relief and rescue operations in the town.

Source : Rediff.com

------>

Hope no t-bhpians in that area at this time

MX6 · 6th August 2010, 12:27

Sad news. Hope the casualities don't increase and normalcy comes back quickly.

kpzen · 6th August 2010, 12:40

Thats scary. Hope everything settles down to normal soon.

Hvk sir - Any tbhpians out there ?

gd1418 · 6th August 2010, 12:46

Very scary and alarming. Leh town normally falls in the Cloud Shadow area. This means the rain bearing clouds give it a miss most of the times. But a cloud burst at Leh and to add to the woes, it is flooded. Hope the Mud Palace didn't suffer any damage..

SS-Traveller · 6th August 2010, 12:56

TV channels reporting 59 dead, over 200 injured, and 10,000 people stuck in Leh. Both highways to Kargil and Manali have been cut off, and the airport is out of operation. Some visuals have come through courtesy Doordarshan, and are being repeated by others like CNN-IBN, TimesNow, Star News etc. The bulk of the damage is reported to be in the Old Bus Stand area.

prsnck · 6th August 2010, 12:57

Very sad to hear this. Hope none of our bhpian's in the casualty. Leh was one of the place "Been there done that" kind of for most of us. Being there with family last year almost similiar time, I still have those memories not too far away from my mind.

My hearty condolsences.

deky · 6th August 2010, 12:59

Just spoke briefly to an army guy we know in Leh. The condition there is really bad. The low lying areas have been totally engulfed by mud slides . Though the water has receded but it has left behind mud & slime that has turned into kind of quick sand.

NH1D at Leh is under a foot of mud as of now, making vehicular traffic impossible.

He couldnt talk more as they have loads of work to do.

I also have a friend visiting Leh right now but could not get through him. Hope he with the rest others visiting or staying in Leh are safe.

May the departed souls RIP. Such are the ways of Nature!!!

6th August 2010, 08:50	#1
sudev Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 3,838 Thanked: 3,179 Times	Leh cloud burst! Flash floods kill 44; Leh completely cut off Breaking news of heavy flooding in Leh town today morning. The airport is also cut off from the town.!! Many people from the forum are touring or planning to tour Leh area - use caution!! Hope all is well with T-BHP members. Cloudbursts take 14 lives in Leh Covered by almost all TV channels
	() Thanks

6th August 2010, 09:20	#2
pramods BHPian Join Date: May 2005 Location: Nagpur Posts: 980 Thanked: 819 Times	The latest I saw was 100 people dead [NDTV], the complete city is almost a river, BSNL office and city hospital area is most affected. -Pramod
	() Thanks

6th August 2010, 09:52	#3
Wanderer78 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 98 Thanked: 48 Times View My Garage	The last I saw on NDTV was 100 people dead and even the main petrol pump flooded. People who plan to visit the area in near future, please take care and plan accordingly.
	() Thanks

6th August 2010, 10:31	#4
suman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Kolkata Posts: 4,589 Thanked: 279 Times View My Garage	OMG, this is scary. Something that I hadn't even considered to be a remote possibility in Leh!
	() Thanks

6th August 2010, 10:40	#5
lohithrao Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Kudla/Mangaluru Posts: 3,204 Thanked: 225 Times View My Garage	Thats bad! am afraid the casualty will be more then 100 but lets hope its not...
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6th August 2010, 10:57	#6
happy.tripathy BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Pune Posts: 76 Thanked: 3 Times	Manali Leh highway has been closed due to the cloud burst. Any T-BHPians doing a Leh ladkah trip this time? Hope all is well with them.
	() Thanks

6th August 2010, 11:05	#7
Rudra Sen Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11,590 Thanked: 6,532 Times View My Garage	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.
	() Thanks

6th August 2010, 11:17	#8
v&v Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 1,545 Thanked: 1,205 Times View My Garage	Its really bad. As per now both ways Kargil - Leh and Manali - lah closed. BSNL network down. Hope none of Team-Bhp members stuck there.
	() Thanks

6th August 2010, 11:28	#9
Archish BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 319 Thanked: 108 Times	Flash floods kill 44; Leh completely cut off A series of cloudbursts have left 44 persons dead and over 300 injured in the frontier Leh town of Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir [ Images ] on Friday. An army spokesman in Srinagar [ Images ] said 6,000 army troopers have been rushed to the ravaged area for rescue and relief efforts. "Army helicopters are engaged in the rescue mission as pedestrian movement in Leh town is impossible due to massive land and mudslides triggered by the bursts and flash floods that followed," Lieutenant Colonel J S Brar told rediff.com. A senior police officer said massive cloudbursts struck the town at approximately midnight, triggering flash floods and mudslides. So far, 44 bodies have been recovered from the debris and over 200 injured victims have been rushed to the hospital for treatment. He said the state-owned BSNL headquarters, along with its installations at Leh, were completely destroyed, causing total disruption of the communication network. "The old and new bus stands, scores of houses, an Indo-Tibetan border police camp, a central reserve police force camp, a police camp and a government polytechnic have been extensively damaged in the flash floods and mudslides in Leh town," a senior police officer said. He said hundreds of jawans of the state police have also joined the relief and rescue operations in the town. Source : Rediff.com ------> Hope no t-bhpians in that area at this time
	() Thanks

6th August 2010, 12:27	#10
MX6 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: City of seven islands. Posts: 2,877 Thanked: 231 Times	Sad news. Hope the casualities don't increase and normalcy comes back quickly.
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6th August 2010, 12:40	#11
kpzen Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Faridabad Posts: 5,610 Thanked: 1,876 Times View My Garage	Thats scary. Hope everything settles down to normal soon. Hvk sir - Any tbhpians out there ?
	() Thanks

6th August 2010, 12:46	#12
gd1418 Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 3,578 Thanked: 728 Times View My Garage	Very scary and alarming. Leh town normally falls in the Cloud Shadow area. This means the rain bearing clouds give it a miss most of the times. But a cloud burst at Leh and to add to the woes, it is flooded. Hope the Mud Palace didn't suffer any damage..
	() Thanks

6th August 2010, 12:56	#13
SS-Traveller Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: New Delhi Posts: 8,164 Thanked: 27,132 Times View My Garage	TV channels reporting 59 dead, over 200 injured, and 10,000 people stuck in Leh. Both highways to Kargil and Manali have been cut off, and the airport is out of operation. Some visuals have come through courtesy Doordarshan, and are being repeated by others like CNN-IBN, TimesNow, Star News etc. The bulk of the damage is reported to be in the Old Bus Stand area.
	() Thanks

6th August 2010, 12:57	#14
prsnck BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 189 Thanked: 69 Times View My Garage	Sad Very sad to hear this. Hope none of our bhpian's in the casualty. Leh was one of the place "Been there done that" kind of for most of us. Being there with family last year almost similiar time, I still have those memories not too far away from my mind. My hearty condolsences. Last edited by prsnck : 6th August 2010 at 13:07.
	() Thanks

6th August 2010, 12:59	#15
deky Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Jaipur Posts: 1,194 Thanked: 1,247 Times	Just spoke briefly to an army guy we know in Leh. The condition there is really bad. The low lying areas have been totally engulfed by mud slides . Though the water has receded but it has left behind mud & slime that has turned into kind of quick sand. NH1D at Leh is under a foot of mud as of now, making vehicular traffic impossible. He couldnt talk more as they have loads of work to do. I also have a friend visiting Leh right now but could not get through him. Hope he with the rest others visiting or staying in Leh are safe. May the departed souls RIP. Such are the ways of Nature!!!
	() Thanks