Dozens killed in Leh cloudburst, flash floods

I was traveling in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh late last month and everywhere I stayed foreigner backpackers were paying less for the rooms than I was.. I even had a sort of an argument with an English backpacker who was complaining that the guest house owner wanted rs.200 for the room even though she had earlier agreed at 150.. and the reason which I thought must have been and I told him was that I had been unable to bargain a better deal and was paying rs.200 so maybe the guest house lady was trying her luck on them ... (they were 2 staying in that room while I was a single-occupant).. so

We've had the same problem, we were planning on arriving in Leh on the 1st of September (from UK) - it seems unfair to take up transport, shelter or food that could be used locally though. I really hope the people there manage to recover before the winter, such a tragedy.

Thanks for the information Zack. But, I don't know how it is in other countries, here I have to know the address of the receiver and also the address of the bank where the money is going, in order to make an international transfer. I also need an international bank account number (IBAN) and the code or the bank (BIC of SWIFT). PNB probably means Punjab National Bank but it's not enough to send the money on its way... Do other IM'ers have more information on this?

The Save the Children page does not work with my credit card

The tragedy will only be worse if everyone starts cancelling their trips. Surely by September there will be enough services operating to satisfy the needs of most tourists and that all the locals will have had their basic needs taken care of well before then.

I wonder if any travellers have tried to find a government or news site that gives advice to prospective travellers.

The Foreign Office in Britain is advising against immediate travel:

Source:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-...oceania/india/

another site that claims to mobilize donations for LEH flood relief!
http://www.savethechildren.in/compon...st-update.html

There is a list of deceased posted on leh.nic.in (pdf) : 145 dead , 102 identified . All Indian nationals except two Nepalis so far.

sitting in the comfort of my house i can not even imagine how humanity suffers every time a natural calamity occurs

there are so many reports of people who have gone beyond the call of duty to help / save others

even in normal times so many para military / border road organization men have lost their lives just to built / maintain roads in the hills

and on other hand their was an article in the times of india that some airlines increased their fare to INR 35,000/- per passanger to fly them out of leh

2 french nationals also!

http://english.samaylive.com/nation/676470818.html

This has undoubtedly been an unprecedented calamity...

One of the rare occasions when it felt that it happened in a place which could be called 'home'...

One has been guilty of not giving due importance to similar tragedies the world over, mainly because they always seemed so distant... But it is only when tragedy strikes closer to home that we realize that all tragedies are equally sad...

The Indian Army and the B.R.O. and the ITBP have already done quite a creditable job, not to forget the Indian Air Force.
Hats Off...!

Yes, its prudent for all tourists, Indian and Foreign, who were planning a visit to Ladakh in the next two months, to wait for a few weeks and check out the latest situation.

But, best not to cancel your plans yet.

Things are bound to improve, and very soon at that...
Yes, some trekking routes might remain out of bounds...
Some bridges might remain temporary bridges for this season...

But, everything else is as it was...

And shall remain...

Do check out Post No. #57 on Page 4 please.

Cheers...!

Here's the latest. It sounds like a lot of problems with the roads and bridges being washed out and people being stranded in some locations.


Leh cloudburst: 81 foreigners rescued from Zanskar valley

Snehesh Alex Philip Leh, Aug 9 (PTI) Eighty one foreigners and six tour guides were today rescued by the Indian Air Force from the 11,000-feet high picturesque Zanskar valley after being stranded there for over three days. The IAF carried out a record 62 sorties by Chetak helicopters in five and half hours to bring back 81 foreign campers from the narrow valley who were stuck there since intervening night of August 5 and 6 after cloudburst and flash floods wreaked havoc in Leh and surrounding areas. The foreigners rescued include 17 British and French nationals, nine people from the Netherlands, eight from Czechoslovakia, seven Germans and four Israelis. "We received information on late Sunday evening that about 150 foreigners were stuck in the Zanskar valley. Our operation started at about 5:30 AM and ended by about 11 AM," Air Vice Marshall J Chauhan, Air Officer Commanding for Jammu and Kashmir, said. The IAF flew the small five seater Chetak helicopter rather than the MI-17 as the valley was narrow. "The valley was so narrow that even the Chetak found it tough to turn around. We had to land on hard surface as there was no helipad there," said Wing Commander Manish V Patel, who was heading the operation and made the first sortie. Asked if it was a record feat, Chauhan said, "I think we have not done so many sorties. It is a record of sort." Though the initial information said there were about 150 odd stranded foreigners, the actual numbers was 81, IAF officials said. Meanwhile, the IAF has brought in about 100 tonnes of materials, including BSNL equipment, since the disaster struck.

I really hope there is more to this story that we are not told : what could possibly motivate using precious helicopter time this early for the apparently walking non-wounded ?

Foreign Embassy prompting/money?

nb The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs is calling on Dutch nationals in the Ladakh area to kindly report to their embassy in Delhi.

I don't imagine a brief notice here on IndiaMike to that effect will help much (on the other hand, maybe as a separate and stand-alone notice?), but, indeed, it might be a good idea for foreign nationals who are known to be, or have last been heard of as being, or undertaking to be, in that area to do so with their respective embassies. People are currently missing with their whereabouts unknown, and those embassies are naturally trying to get a clear picture. A ring to the folks back home will likewise no doubt be appreciated. And don't forget those folks may not have a very clear idea of where precisely on the ground you are, even if to you it may seem "far away."

(In the Dutch case, of a reported 81 people known or thought to be there, all but 13 have already been located, so I guess one might call that effective.)

The value of the life of a foreign tourist and that of a local is the same in India. But if the newspapers mention foreign tourists on front page, I do not mind it. After-all, they are our guests regardless of what money they bring in (Atithi Devo Bhava). Indians are spending more money outside India as compared to what the foreign tourists spend in India.