 "The partially washed-away Manali-Chandigarh highway is seen alongside a swollen Beas River at Manali, following a recent cloudburst in Kullu district. PTI")
India has been lashed by heavy rains for the past few days.
Cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand on Monday (August 1) have left at least 14 people dead.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who convened an emergency meeting, said as many as 50 people were reported missing from these areas in the state.
“Roads have been washed away and a hydro power project in the area has also been damaged,” Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap told PTI.
Rescue operations have been launched as incessant rains have triggered floods and caused significant damage to properties.
Landslides have also been triggered in hilly regions leading to road being blocked and movement of vehicles being halted.
But do you know why and how cloudbursts occur? Let’s take a closer look: