Insistent rains have finally reached a  critical mass here in Ladakh.  Catastrophic floods rampaged through the  capital city of Leh last night around 1am destroying roads, homes and  causing unconfirmed deaths and injuries.  August 6th was scheduled to be  an enormous cultural event with the return of the incarnate Lama  Bhakula Rimpoche to Leh in a vast motorcade over the highest motorable  road in the world from Nubra Valley.  Reports are that the main Nubra  Valley  city of Disket was flooded, so most likely many, many devotees  and dignitaries who had assembled there for the motorcade are stranded  or worse.

I just returned from Leh and have attached 8 very  shocking photos.  There are many, many devastated apartment buildings  that are now under excavation to find any survivors.  Reports from the  scene estimate the death toll in the hundreds, but it is the first hours  of the true nature of the catastrophe.  Sonam Norboo Hospital is also  very heavily damaged as well as All India Radio, the mobile phone  companies and the airport runways is damaged to some extent.  We went  out to see the runway from Spitok Monastery which overlooks it and it  appears to not have been damaged structurally, but is covered in mud  from flooding.  All roads to Leh are blocked by the devastation and  emergency crews working.  It's well and truly the biggest disaster that I  or anyone else has seen in 25 years.  Unbelievably, it is now 2pm in  Ladakh and the thunder and lightening is starting yet again which might  very well bring another wave of destruction.  It's worse than I can  describe and might deteriorate if it rains again.  All those planning on  coming to Leh must now re-evaluate your travel plans.  It will be  significant time before anything resembling normality returns to Leh.