Cloudbursts, flash floods and cyclones: Natural disasters India braved in 2025

The year 2025 saw multiple catastrophic natural disasters that led to large-scale devastation and loss of life across the country. From floods in Punjab that damaged thousands of homes and caused major crop losses to cloudbursts in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district and avalanches in Uttarakhand, the year witnessed massive destruction due to natural disasters.

India experienced extreme weather events on over 331 days, according to an analysis by the Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and Down To Earth.

As the year draws to a close, we take a look at some of the biggest natural disasters and the large-scale devastation that the country braved this year: More than 60 people died after a cloudburst struck Chishoti village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on August 14, 2025. The incident led to sudden flash floods during a pilgrimage, resulting in massive damage.

The disaster occurred at the last motorable point on the route to the sacred Machail Mata temple, when a large number of pilgrims had gathered for the annual Machail Mata Yatra.

A powerful surge of water swept through parts of the village, damaging houses and cutting off road access to remote locations.

The scale of the tragedy became clear during rescue operations, when officials recovered blood-stained bodies, including mud-filled lungs, broken ribs and deep wounds filled with stones.

At least 12 injured survivors, including members of second-line response teams, were taken to hospitals across the state. Several of them were in serious condition, suffering from broken ribs and fractured legs.

In early August 2025, Uttarakhand was hit by severe flash floods caused by a cloudburst, leading to massive destruction and at least five deaths. Around 50 people were reported missing immediately, including 17 workers from Nepal.

Two separate cloudbursts in Dharali and Sukhi Top caused major damage, with Dharali village in Uttarkashi district bearing the brunt of the impact.

Large-scale rescue and relief work was launched involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Indian Army and the local administration.

Officials said hundreds of people were evacuated by air or shifted to safer areas.

More than 50 people were killed, and crops were severely affected after Punjab witnessed its worst flooding since 1988 as the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers overflowed, submerging vast stretches of farmland and villages.

Continuous heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir caused the rivers to swell beyond danger levels.

The floods caused severe damage, especially in the border districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur, where thousands of acres of standing paddy crop were destroyed, and several villages remained underwater for days.

The Indian Army, Border Security Force, Indian Air Force and National Disaster Response Force were deployed to evacuate people and provide relief material.

In February, an avalanche struck a village in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, trapping several personnel and labourers working at a Border Roads Organisation camp. The government told the Parliament that out of 54 workers, 46 were rescued while eight lost their lives.

Indian Army troops stationed at Joshimath were the first to respond, followed by a joint rescue effort involving the Indian Air Force, Army Aviation, Border Roads Organisation, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and Indo-Tibetan Border Police, supported by the state and district administration.

The avalanche hit the camp between Mana and Mana Pass between 5.30 am and 6 am on Friday. Workers sleeping inside eight containers and a shed were buried under snow. They were part of a strategic road project linking Mana, the last Indian village, to Mana Pass near the China border.

During the monsoon season, Himachal Pradesh was struck by several cloudburst incidents that caused flash floods, landslides and large-scale damage across the hill state.

At least 69 people were killed, 37 were reported missing and 110 were injured as Himachal Pradesh struggled with cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides caused by days of continuous and heavy monsoon rain, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said in July.

By then, the state had already suffered losses worth ₹700 crore due to cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides.

By August this year, Himachal Pradesh recorded total losses of ₹1,952 crore and had witnessed 58 flash floods, 30 cloudbursts and 51 major landslides so far.

Many areas were cut off after roads were damaged and communication networks collapsed in several parts of the state.

A severe cyclonic storm developed over the Bay of Bengal in late October and made landfall on India’s east coast near Narasapuram, between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, in Andhra Pradesh.

The cyclone caused massive damage, including uprooted trees and flooded farmlands, across Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. It brought heavy rainfall, strong winds, coastal flooding and rough sea conditions, leading to large-scale evacuations, closure of schools and disaster alerts across several states.

Two days of heavy to very heavy rain in Andhra Pradesh left crops spread across more than 43,000 hectares underwater and affected around 83,000 farmers, according to reports.

On September 23, Kolkata witnessed an extreme rainfall event, as very heavy rain lashed the city overnight and into the early morning hours, causing severe flooding, waterlogging, transport disruptions and multiple deaths.

The rainfall came ahead of the Durga Puja celebrations, disrupting travel plans for many residents and visitors.

The downpour was triggered by a strong low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal that remained over the region, resulting in prolonged rainfall, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Flooded roads, underpasses and residential areas brought train, metro, bus and airport services to a halt in several parts of the city.

Cyclonic storm Ditwah formed over the southeast Bay of Bengal on November 26, 2025, and lasted into early December before weakening into a remnant low by December 3, 2025.

Although the storm caused the most severe damage in Sri Lanka, southern India, particularly Tamil Nadu and parts of Puducherry, also experienced heavy rainfall, flooding and loss of life due to the system and its remnants.

In Tamil Nadu, at least three people died in rain-related incidents linked to Ditwah, including deaths caused by wall collapses and electrocution.