According to Wikipedia, a cloudburst is literally a cloud bursting, resulting in extreme downpour, sometimes with hail and thunder, which normally lasts no longer than a few minutes but is capable of creating flood conditions. Cloudbursts descend from very high clouds, sometimes with tops above 15 kilometers. Meteorologists say the rain from a cloudburst is usually of the shower type with a fall rate equal to or greater than 100mm (3.94 inches) per hour. During a cloudburst, more than 2 cm of rain may fall in a few minutes. When there are instances of cloudbursts, the results can be disastrous.
On Monday, property worth millions was destroyed as a cloudburst hit Himachal Pradesh's Kharahal Valley. The locals, who heard some thunder early this morning, witnessed the road overflowing with water. And this is not the first time this has happened.
On Monday, property worth millions was destroyed as a cloudburst hit Himachal Pradesh's Kharahal Valley. The locals, who heard some thunder early this morning, witnessed the road overflowing with water. And this is not the first time this has happened.
Cloudbursts frequently occur in the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand during the monsoon. The monsoon rains during July and August put a lot of water into the Himalayan soil. Some cloudburst stats:
* August 31, 1960 - 250 millimetres (9.8 in) of rain in 3hrs in Mandi and Suketi valley, Himachal Pradesh led to 103 deaths.
* July, 1970 — Cloudburst in the upper catchment area led to a 15 metre rise in the Alaknanda river in Uttarakhand. Entire river basin, from Hanumanchatti near the holy pilgrimage town of Badrinath to Haridwar was affected; An entire village was swept away.
* On August 15, 1997, 115 people were killed when a cloud burst came bustling and trail of death are all that is left behind in Chirgaon in Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh.
* On August 17, 1998 - A massive landslide following heavy rain and a cloudburst at Malpa village killed 250 people including 60 Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims in Kali valley of the Kumaon division, Uttarakhand. Among the dead was Odissi dancer Protima Bedi.
* On July 16, 2003, About 40 persons were killed in flash floods caused by a cloudburst at Shilagarh in Gursa area of Kullu, Himachal Pradesh.
* July 6, 2004, At least 17 people were killed and 28 injured when three vehicles were swept into the Alaknanda river by heavy landslides triggered by a cloudburst that left nearly 5,000 pilgrims stranded near Badrinath shrine area in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand.
* On August 16, 2007, 52 people were confirmed dead when a severe cloud burst occurred in in Bhavi village in Ghanvi, Himachal Pradesh.
* On August 7, 2009, 38 people were killed in a landslide resulting from a cloudburst in Nachni area near Munsiyari in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand.
And most recently,
* On August 6, 2010, in Leh, a series of cloudbursts left 179 persons dead and over 400 injured in the frontier Leh town of Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir.
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