India, Sept. 17 -- Heavy overnight rains that wreaked havoc in parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand were triggered by a "violent interaction" between dry westerly winds and moisture-laden easterlies, meteorologists said on Tuesday.
The overnight downpour swept away at least five people and stranded over 500 in Dehradun and adjoining areas.
In Himachal's Mandi, three members of a family died as landslides and flash floods submerged a bus stand.
CS Tomar, head of the India Meteorological Department's regional centre in Dehradun, said the incessant rains in Uttarakhand and Himachal were caused by a confluence of dry westerlies and moist easterlies and that the interaction is expected to continue for the next 24 hours.
Mahesh Palawat, ...