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In Pictures: The ruins of Ladakh

Ladakh looks back at the devastating 2010 flash floods that uprooted scores of villages and claimed over 250 lives.

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(***)It was the saddest night for all Ladakhis,(***) says Thinley, a resident of Leh.
By Bijoyeta Das
Published On 6 Aug 2014

Leh, India-administered Kashmir – On August 6, 2010, a cloudburst triggered sudden rains and flash floods, leading to untold devastation all across Ladakh, the remotest part of India-administered Kashmir.

Tucked in the Himalayas, the cold arid desert plateau is situated close to the eastern Line of Actual Control (LAC) – dividing India-administered territory from Chinese-administered Aksai Chin.

Even after four years, the ruins in Leh – the administrative capital of Ladakh and one of the worst hit areas – remain as a haunting sign of loss and grief.

A cloudburst is a sudden weather event, with extreme precipitation and the rate of rainfall can be higher than 100 millimetres per hour.

One night of flash floods killed more than 250 people including six foreigners.

The storm lasted an hour around midnight, but the sudden downpour caused mudslides coursing down the jagged mountain peaks; buildings collapsed, burying scores as they slept and rendering thousands homeless.

The village of Choglamsar, 8km from Leh, was one of the worst hit areas. The people have been resettled to nearby areas, but the crumbled and abandoned houses continue to show the scars of the disaster.

Rainfall is very scarce in the Ladakh region, which is situated at an altitude of more than 3,353 metres. Houses are not built to sustain such heavy rains. 
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The inside of a house that was damaged in the village of Choglamsar. The floods tore through parts of the town during the night, damaging houses and government buildings.  
A river of rocks and mud ripped apart houses and flattened most of Leh which is popular with foreign tourists seeking adventure and interested in high-altitude trekking and river-running. 
Clothes and personal items lay scattered among destroyed houses. 
After the floods, residents tried to salvage some parts of their homes. Broken furniture is still seen among the ruins. 
The flash floods occurred at night catching the residents by surprise. Though many lost their lives, the state police and the Indian army were quick to launch rescue operations.
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A newly built residential complex for the flood-affected people.
The cloudburst affected 71 towns and villages, impacting around 9,000 people directly, in this mountainous Buddhist-dominated region.
In Choglamsar village, people have started rebuilding their damaged homes, but most of these houses still remain abandoned.