Fatal cloudburst devastates Himalayan desert town

By Anil Ananthaswamy
17 August 2010 15:12 Even as the world’s attention was focused on the floods in Pakistan, a rare and extreme cloudburst devastated the Himalayan town of Leh in Ladakh, India – normally one of the driest regions on Earth. Heavy rainfall is common elsewhere in the Himalayas, but not in Ladakh. The region lies in the rain shadow of the high mountains, making it a cold, high-altitude desert. According to the Indian Meteorological Department, Ladakh receives an average of about 15 millimetres of rain during August. But between 1.30 and 2 am on 6 August, a cloudburst hit Leh. It led to flash floods and mudslides, washing away houses that weren’t built to withstand such rainfall. More than 150 people have died and hundreds more are missing. The rainstorm was so focussed that it missed a nearby weather station, so the total rainfall is not known. …