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.

Besides locals and tourists, the missing may include labourers as several hotels were under construction at the site of the flash floods

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.