Rains wreak havoc in Himachal, 5 dead in Mandi, two missing

Heavy overnight rains caused severe flooding and landslides in Himachal Pradesh, resulting in a house collapse in Mandi’s Sundernagar subdivision where three people died, while two persons were swept away by the strong currents of a khad in Darang assembly constituency of Mandi district.

Heavy overnight rains caused severe flooding and landslides in Himachal Pradesh, resulting in a house collapse in Mandi’s Sundernagar subdivision where three people died, while two persons were swept away by the strong currents of a khad in Darang assembly constituency of Mandi district. Officials also reported on Tuesday that two individuals are missing in the Dharampur area of Mandi district following the heavy downpour.

Mandi has been facing continuous rain since Monday night with the bus stand at Dharampur flooded, the officials said, adding buses and vehicles were swept away in the strong flow of water. (Deepak Sansta/ HT)

Three people died and two were rescued at Baragta village of Sundernagar’s Nihri tehsil in Mandi district when debris from an adjoining cliff slid onto a kutcha house around 2.30am, causing it to collapse. According to the officials, five people were inside the house when the landslide struck. While two were rescued, three were buried in the debris and their bodies were recovered later.

Rescue operations were carried out jointly by the administration and local residents. “All three bodies have been recovered,” said Sundernagar sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Amar Negi. The deceased have been identified as Tangu Devi (64), Kamla Devi (33) and Bhishm Singh (8 months).

Meanwhile, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has mourned the death of three persons and said that the state government stands in solidarity with aggrieved families in this hour of grief. He directed the district administration to provide all possible assistance to the next of kin of the deceased.

The CM took stock of the situation from the deputy commissioners of affected areas and directed them to take necessary and immediate actions to mitigate the impact. He emphasised the need to shift the people living in unsafe buildings to secure locations to avert any untoward incident and ensure their safety. He directed the authorities to restore the damaged roads and water supply schemes in the affected areas on priority so that people do not face any inconvenience.

According to reports, the victims were on their way to a temple and were crossing a wooden bridge over the khad in the Drang area when they lost balance and were carried away by the current. The victims have been identified as Prem Singh (45) and Manohar Lal (43).

Flash flood in Dharampur

Mandi has been facing continuous rain since Monday night with the bus stand at Dharampur flooded, the officials said, adding buses and vehicles were swept away in the strong flow of water. Police officials said that two people are missing in Dharampur and they are feared swept away by the strong flash flood.

“Dharampur town was the worst affected as the Son Khad suddenly swelled and took a furious form. Around midnight, floodwaters gushed into the bus stand, submerging several state-run buses and sweeping away others along with dozens of private vehicles, including cars, motorcycles, and scooters,” the Dharampur DCP said.

Houses and shops were inundated, forcing residents to climb to rooftops for safety. A hostel housing nearly 150 students was also flooded, but all of them managed to move to the upper floors. Police and rescue teams, led by DSP Sanjeev Sood, carried out the overnight rescue operation.

After assessing the damage in Dharampur, deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri held a meeting with local administrative and departmental officials to review and evaluate the ongoing relief and restoration work. Agnihotri said that, according to initial estimates, heavy rains and flooding have caused losses of nearly ₹10 crore to public and private property in Dharampur.

He added that the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) alone has suffered an estimated loss of around ₹6 crore.

“As many as 20 buses of the corporation were badly damaged, including 18 from the Dharampur depot and one each from Sarkaghat and Bilaspur depots. The Dharampur bus station also sustained extensive damage. However, all corporation staff members are safe, he said.