Himalayan glacier bursts in India, triggers flood, villages evacuated

India put many of its northern districts on high alert on Sunday after the "breaking of a part" of a Himalayan glacier, officials said, with people being evacuated due to rising water levels on a river that the glacier feeds.

Footage from TV channels and news agency ANI, a Reuters partner, showed water gushing toward a dam in the state of Uttarakhand, washing away parts of it and whatever else was in its path. "The news of relief is that the flow of Alaknanda River beyond Nandprayag (stretch) has become normal," Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said on Twitter.

"The water level of the river is now 1 meter above normal but the flow is decreasing." Police in the Chamoli district where the dam was located urged people to leave the area as soon as possible.