185 killed in Himachal since onset of monsoon
As many as 185 people have lost their lives since the onset of monsoon in Himachal Pradesh, while another 325 have been injured. According to the data shared by the department of revenue, 37 people have lost their lives in Kangra, followed by 30 in Mandi, 20 in Solan and 17 in Shimla district. The monsoon this year advanced in Himachal on June 27.
As many as 185 people have lost their lives since the onset of monsoon in Himachal Pradesh, while another 325 have been injured. According to the data shared by the department of revenue, 37 people have lost their lives in Kangra, followed by 30 in Mandi, 20 in Solan and 17 in Shimla district. The monsoon this year advanced in Himachal on June 27.
Of all the lives lost during this monsoon, 103 lives were lost due to various accidents which included accidental drowning, cloudbursts, electrocution and falling from trees or rocks. While around 100 houses have also been fully damaged, over 200 houses have been partially damaged during the monsoon so far.
From June 27 to August 8, 38 incidents of cloudbursts or flashfloods have been reported and 19 landslide incidents also took place in the state.
According to the data compiled by the Jal Shakti department, 3,514 water supply schemes have been affected during the monsoon. Also, a total crop area of 4,05,725 hectares has also been affected during the monsoon in the state. Around 3,098 horticulture farmers have been affected.
Meanwhile, the search for the missing people and retrieval operations are continuing in recent flashflood affected areas in Shimla, Mandi and Kullu districts. As per data from the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), 55 people went missing in Kullu’s Nirmand, Sainj and Malana, Mandi’s Padhar and Shimla’s Rampur subdivision, which were hit by a series of cloudbursts on the night of July 31. So far, 28 bodies have been recovered from flood affected areas. The worst hit was Samej village on the border of Shimla and Kullu district where about 18 people are still missing.
Flashflood alert
The India meteorological department (IMD) on Saturday issued flashflood alert for Chamba, Kangra, Mandi, Sirmaur and Shimla districts of Himachal Pradesh, as rains continue to lash parts of the state.
The weather office said surface run-off or inundation may occur in some fully saturated soils and low-lying areas due to expected rainfall occurrence in the next 24 hours. Earlier in the day, a flashflood alert was issued for Kullu district as well.
Various districts of the state remained under an orange alert of heavy to very heavy rainfall on Saturday. According to IMD’s Shimla office, most of the districts will continue to remain under a yellow alert of heavy rainfall for the next few days, as the rainfall has been predicted to continue in the state.
Heavy rains lash parts of state, 135 roads closed
Heavy rains lashed parts of Himachal as 135 roads remained closed in the state due to landslides and flashfloods. Heavy rains lashed parts of the state with Nahan (Sirmaur) recording the highest rainfall of 17 cm mm since Friday evening, followed by 9.0 cm in Nagrota Suriyan, 5.00 cmm in Jubberhatti and in Kandaghat each.
According to the State Emergency Operation Centre, 24 power and 56 water supply schemes have been disrupted due to the rains.