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.

The Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) said 16 people, including nine Army personnel and seven civilians, are missing.

Rescuers struggled to reach the village of Dharali in Uttarakhand state as landslides blocked a major highway and heavy rain continued to pelt the region.