At least 56 people were killed and around 150 injured when torrents of floodwater struck a remote Himalayan mountain village in Kashmir on Thursday — the second deadly flooding disaster in the region this month.
Local authorities reported a sudden "cloudburst" near the village of Chositi in the Kishtwar district, where over 100 Hindu pilgrims were resting en route to the nearby Machail Mata shrine.
"The news is grim," said Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in a statement, while disaster management officials said that 50 of those injured were "severely" hurt.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised that "every possible assistance will be provided to those in need."
The local NDTV broadcaster reported that units of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the army were on their way to the area, which lies more than 200 kilometers (125 miles) by road from the region's main city of Srinagar.
News footage showed gushing water, damaged homes and vehicles, and mud and rock debris.
Officials said a large makeshift kitchen set up for the pilgrims — who were reportedly not registered with local authorities — was completely washed away.
Pankaj Kumar Sharma, district commissioner of Kishtwar, warned earlier that "there are chances of more dead bodies being found."
How common is flooding in the region?
The disaster comes just one week after another Himalayan town was effectively swept away floods on August 5. The death toll in Dharali in the Indian state of Uttarakhand is expected to be over 70, but officials are yet confirm.
Floods and landslides are common during India's June to September monsoon season, but experts say climate change, coupled with inadequate planning, is increasing their frequency and severity.
The UN's World Meteorological Organization said last year that increasingly intense floods and droughts should be understood as "distress signals" of what is to come as climate change makes the planet's water cycle ever more unpredictable.
