A devastating cloudburst struck Sagwada village in Tharali tehsil of Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, late Friday night, leaving at least two people missing and several houses reduced to rubble. Officials confirmed on Saturday that massive debris flows wreaked havoc across the region, sweeping away structures and cutting off vital road links.

District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari said the destruction was so severe that even the official residence of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) was completely washed away. “One person from Sagwada is missing, while search and rescue operations are being carried out round-the-clock,” he said.

Teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police, and local administration were immediately deployed and remain engaged in rescue and relief efforts.

The cloudburst also triggered landslides, forcing the closure of the Tharali–Gwaldam and Tharali–Sagwada road routes. Authorities ordered the closure of all schools in Tharali tehsil for the day as a precautionary measure.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, in a late-night post on X, termed the incident “tragic” and assured that the state government was actively monitoring the situation. “The district administration, SDRF, and police have reached the spot and are engaged in relief and rescue operations. I am in constant contact with the local administration and personally keeping a close watch,” he said.

Chamoli Police highlighted the swift response of local forces, stating that residents were evacuated overnight and shifted to safer locations. “Public life was severely impacted due to heavy rainfall. Our teams worked through the night, alerting families and moving them out of danger,” the police said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall across the state in the coming days. Uttarakhand has been battered by relentless monsoon showers this season, triggering cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides in multiple districts.