Uttarakhand, the mountainous northern state that hosts Dharali, has been devastated by cloudbursts before. A June 2013 cloudburst killed over 6,000 people in Uttarakhand and surrounding states, becoming the country's worst natural disaster in ten years. In 2021, flash flooding triggered by a cloudburst killed over 200.

Following a devastating mudslide in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district, 274 people have been rescued, while 59 remain missing.

The Indian Army and other forces were helping with the rescue, officials said. The flood’s full death toll may be higher, with so many missing.