The flood surged through the Kheer Ganga river and also struck an army camp near Harsil, about four kilometres from Dharali. Officials initially said 11 army personnel were feared missing; two were later found safe, leaving nine still unaccounted for. A 150-member army contingent led local rescue and relief operations, while additional columns were moved toward the area.
Police, the Army, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force were deployed. Reported evacuation totals changed as operations advanced. The Uttarakhand government said the combined agencies had rescued 130 people, while the ITBP reported moving 37 villagers, including four children, to its Kopang border outpost and providing first aid.
Officials faced multiple operational obstacles. Rain continued during the response, roads were blocked and flood damage interrupted mobile and internet connections. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said restoring power and communications was a priority alongside getting doctors, medicine, food and other supplies to affected people. Police assigned about 160 personnel, including senior officers, and the health department arranged medical support.
The destruction extended beyond homes. A local resident estimated that 20 to 25 hotels and guesthouses might have been lost, although that early figure had not yet been confirmed through a full assessment. Debris also buried the ancient Kalp Kedar temple. The available report did not provide a settled figure for the total number of missing civilians, and rapidly changing rescue counts meant that the early toll remained provisional.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were monitoring the emergency and had assured the state of federal assistance, Dhami said. School and Anganwadi closures were announced in several Uttarakhand districts because of continuing heavy-rain warnings, while communities near rising rivers were placed on alert.
Rescuers' immediate objective was to reach people cut off by the flood and determine who remained missing. At the same time, engineering and utility teams worked to re-establish access, electricity and communications so relief could move into the disaster zone. The combination of unstable weather, deep debris and disrupted transport made the search a continuing operation rather than a completed accounting of the disaster. Authorities continued monitoring rising rivers while the search proceeded.
