A massive rescue operation is under way to reach survivors in the flood-hit Indian state of Uttarakhand, where nearly 150 people have died.
More than 62,000 pilgrims are stranded after the floods swept away buildings and triggered landslides.
A large number of them are reported to be trapped in the holy town of Kedarnath, located in a valley.
State Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has described the floods as a "Himalayan tsunami".
Flood-related deaths have also been reported in Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh states and neighbouring Nepal.
The monsoon season generally lasts from June to September, bringing rain which is critical to the farming output, but this year the rain in the north of India and parts of Nepal has been heavier than usual.
Media reports say military helicopters and the army are mainly targeting Kedarnath in Rudraprayag district, where portions of a famous Hindu temple have been washed away and the shrine is "submerged in mud and slush".
State-run broadcaster Doordarshan reported that about 90 guest houses for pilgrims in Kedarnath and neighbouring areas had been swept away, raising fears of more deaths.
"I heard a loud explosion and a lake above Kedarnath town burst its banks. The floods arrived minutes later and everything was gone in 15 minutes," Dinesh Bagwari, a priest at the temple, told the BBC Hindi.
"We spent 36 hours without water or food. I saw several hundred people trapped in inhuman conditions. Five of my family members are missing and my 17-year-old son is stranded there."
More than 5,500 soldiers and hundreds of paramilitary and disaster management officials are working to rescue and provide emergency supplies to thousands of tourists and pilgrims stranded in towns and temples. Twenty helicopters have been deployed.
Uttarakhand police official RS Meena said that 15,000 people have been evacuated from the flood-hit areas by land and air so far.
Rescue operations were halted on Thursday morning due to rains and bad visibility, but resumed later in the day after the weather improved.
Senior Uttarakhand official Om Prakash said the death toll in the floods in the state had gone up to 150.
Mr Bahuguna said the death and destruction in the floods was "unprecedented", and that the toll would rise further.
The vice chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority told The Indian Express the rains in Uttarakhand had been the "heaviest in 60 years".
India's PM Manmohan Singh has described the situation there as "distressing" and announced a 10bn rupee ($170m; £127m) aid package for the state. More
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