Apdaa ("Catastrophe")
On 16-17 June 2013, Kedarnath suffered multiple flash floods caused by almost 13 inches of rain. The first came on the evening of the 16th, and was caused by runoff from the hills at right. At 7 the next morning a glacial lake above the town burst its banks, sending a nine-foot high wall of water and debris through the town (its path is visible at the top left). Thousands died, though the exact number is unknown.
The locals who survived suffered multiple traumas: being forced (by their work) to return to the site of the disaster, living in half-ruined buildings with no water or electricity, , and--since visitor arrivals were 90% lower than in 2013--earning no money in 2014.
In the foreground is the Udak Kund, a well on the main street leading to the temple. This was completely obliterated in the flood, but has been cleaned out and is being rebuilt. The red flags behind it mark places where temples used to stand.
The boulders and the wrecked buildings in the background testify to the violence of the flooding almost 15 months earlier (Oct. 2014).
The Kedarnath temple suffered relatively little damage, primarily because the largest boulder in the debris flow (foreground) lodged directly behind the temple, and diverted the floodwaters to each side. Many were quick to see a divine hand in this, and one temple priest--who was inside when the flood hit--described the waters as swirling in through the east door, circling around the image in the rear of the temple (as if in a gesture of respect), and then exiting through the west door.
This protective boulder, now dubbed the Divya Bhim Shila (Divine Bhim Stone), has become a small shrine in its own right, to mark what is viewed as a miracle. The side of the rock has been smeared with the red powder known as sindur, and the decorated trident placed to one side.
Bhima was one of the five Pandava brothers in the epic Mahabharata, and since he was known for his prodigious size and strength, this seems an appropriate identification with this stone.
The temple had little visible damage--a few stones knocked off the back, and some cracks on the upper right facade--but structural assessments are ongoing. The temple's construction is unusually strong, since each block is secured by metal pin into the blocks below it (like a Lego joint).
The men with the orange dhotis are Kedarnath pandas (hereditary pilgrimage priests). Aside from them the town had no businesses whatsoever in 2014--not even a tea stand, much less a hotel or restaurant. Since the pandas' work is tied to this particular place, the flood has gravely affect them--many of them lost buildings and property in the flooding, and all have suffered from the disastrous decline in visitor numbers.
Landslides caused by the flooding obliterated much of the previous path above Rambara--the new path has been built on the other side of the Mandakini River.
The floods also scoured away all the vegetation from the narrow gorges. There was comparable damage for most of the Mandakini River valley, and the effects are still being felt.