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Frantic rescue op in Himachal amid rise in toll
The death toll in Himachal Pradesh, India, has reached at least 57 following devastating rains that triggered landslides and floods. Rescue operations are ongoing, with the state government seeking help from the Army. This is the second time this year that the region has been hit by extreme floods.
The death toll after devastating rains in Himachal Pradesh reached at least 57 on Tuesday following the recovery of two bodies from under the rubble of a collapsed Shiv Temple in Summer Hill area of Shimla, and two others from Krishna Nagar area where four buildings collapsed in the afternoon.
Overnight rain on Monday triggered multiple landslides and sent rivers into spate in the Himalayan state, washing away vehicles and subsuming buildings into flood waters.
The destruction, however, continued in some areas even on Tuesday, with a harrowing video emerging from Krishna Nagar in Shimla showing a set of four buildings collapsing as the ground underneath them slid away. While two people were confirmed dead in the incident, officials said they were yet to ascertain the exact number of people buried under the rubble.
This is the second time during this year’s monsoons that the country’s Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are reeling under extreme floods. In July, floods, landslides and mudslides devastated Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand after devastating volumes of rain leading to hundreds of deaths.
In other areas of Himachal, rescue operations resumed as rains subsided on Tuesday morning.
The state government sought the help of Army in rescue operations on Tuesday, while teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and SDRF were already deployed across the state.
Heavy machinery were being used to remove the debris to recover the bodies.
While the operations were still centered in Summer Hill and Fagli areas of Shimla, from where most deaths were also reported, the operations concluded in Solan district with the recovery of all seven people buried in a landslide in Jadon village, taking the toll to 11.
Due to inclement weather and rescue operations continuing till late on Tuesday, officials did not issue a death toll, with several more feared trapped under mounds of debris.
Devotees had gathered in a large number to offer prayers at the temple on the occasion of it being the last Monday of Shravan — a month considered auspicious for some Hindus, when the tragedy struck at 7.30am.
While the rescue operations were going on, four buildings collapsed in Krishna Nagar area in Shimla due to a massive landslide.
Videos circulated on social media showed an area of about 600 square metres crashing down within minutes, along with a three-storey building. Officials said the exact number of people trapped under the buildings was yet to be ascertained, as the buildings, identified as unsafe, had been evacuated earlier. Two deaths have been reported from Krishna Nagar so far as most of the buildings were evacuated, Naresh Chauhan, media advisor to chief minister, said. “We are trying to verify from the exact number from the ground,” he said.
The landslides also swept away a 50-metre section of the Shimla-Kalka railway line, a Unesco world heritage site, leaving a portion of the track hanging near the Summer Hill area.
“The heritage track has suffered damage at five to six places with the most affected stretch being between Shimla and Shoghi,” station master Joginder Singh said.
Earlier in the day, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu pegged the death toll at 55.
“So far, 55 people have died in different landslides caused by heavy rain and cloudbursts in different parts of Himachal. Rescue operations are going on at the locals under direction supervision of district in-charge ministers,” said Sukhu.
Mandi deputy commissioner Arindam Chaudhary said that 19 bodies have been recovered, but some people were still reported to be missing.
Seven members of a family, including a two-year-old child, were killed in a landslide late on Sunday night in Seghli panchayat while six bodies were recovered at Sambhal near Pandoh in Mandi district, officials said.
The government, meanwhile, has identified several unsafe buildings in Shimla, a town where the population has grown to levels much higher than its initial capacity, an official familiar with the matter said.
“Effort is on to vacate these buildings and shift people to safer locations,” the official said.
A total of 857 roads remained blocked for vehicular traffic in the state, with 345 in Mandi alone, officials said. The Shimla-Chandigarh, Pathankot-Mandi, Dharamshala-Shimla and Manali-Chandigarh highway were closed for the second consecutive day.
Several parts of the state were without power for third day in a row with 4,285 transformers going bust. Locals said that many villages in upper reaches of Shimla, Mandi, Lahaul and Spiti and Kullu districts were without regular power for more than a month now.
This is the second time during this year’s monsoons that Himachal Pradesh is reeling under floods and extreme rainfall. In July, floods, landslides and mudslides devastated the state, along with Uttarakhand, after two weather systems combined to unleash devastating volumes of rain.
According to the state emergency operation centre, the state has suffered losses to the tune of ₹7,171 crore since the onset of monsoon on June 24 till August 14. A total of 170 incidents of cloudbursts and landslides have been reported in the state this monsoon season and about 9,600 houses damaged.
A red alert for heavy rain and potential flash floods was in effect for Tuesday, and an orange alert has been issued for Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department said.
The state has experienced heavy to extremely heavy rainfall since Saturday, with Kangra receiving the highest recorded rainfall of 273.4mm. Sujanpur Tira of Hamirpur and Dharamshala followed closely with 254mm and 250mm of rainfall respectively.
Triggering the latest spell of rain is a similar, albeit milder, weather phenomenon which was seen in July. The trough of the monsoon, a high altitude band of wind and moisture that interact in such a way that the heavy moisture content turns into clouds, and clouds to rains, is close to the Himalayan foothills.
It is supplemented by a feeble western disturbance, a rain-bearing system that originates in the Mediterranean Sea which too brings moisture-laden winds. The trough has been near the Himalayas for months now.
