Uttarakhand, the mountainous northern state that hosts Dharali, has been devastated by cloudbursts before. A June 2013 cloudburst killed over 6,000 people in Uttarakhand and surrounding states, becoming the country's worst natural disaster in ten years. In 2021, flash flooding triggered by a cloudburst killed over 200.

Flash floods have swept away homes and shops in northern India, killing at least four people and trapping many others under debris.

Dozens of people are feared trapped after a cloudburst triggered flash floods in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. Videos from the site of the accident show a giant stream of water gushing through the area and engulfing Dhanali, a small riverside village.