The Kedarnath valley , along with other parts of the state of Uttarakhand , was hit with unprecedented flash floods on 16 and 17 June 2013 . On 16 June , at about 7:30 p.m. a landslide and mudslides occurred near Kedarnath Temple with loud peals of thunder . An enormously loud peal was heard and huge amounts of water started gushing from Chorabari Tal or Gandhi Tal down Mandakini river at about 8:30 p.m. washing everything away in its path . On 17 June 2013 at about 6:40 a.m. in the morning waters again started cascading at a huge speed from river Swaraswati and Chorabari Tal or Gandhi Tal bringing along with its flow huge amount of silt , rocks , and boulders . A huge rock got stuck behind Kedarnath Temple and protected it from the ravages of the flood . The waters gushed on both the sides of the temple destroying everything in their path . Even eyewitness observed that one large rock got carried to the rear side of Kedarnath Temple , thus causing obstruction to the debris , diverting the flow of river and debris to the sides of the temple avoiding damage
unprecedented flash floods
2013 North India floods
Kedarnath Temple