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Five of family buried under debris after cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur
The combined death toll from the rain, floods and landslides in Himachal Pradesh since the onset of monsoon on June 24 reached 223.
Five family members, who had gone missing after the cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur, were found buried under debris, an official statement said on Thursday.
"DEOC Sirmour informed that an incident of Cloud Burst occurred at Village Malagi Dadiyat, Aauli, Tehsil Paonta Sahib, District Sirmaur due to this incident, 5 family members of Kuldeep Kamar are missing," State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said in a bulletin.
In the fresh weather spate, the cloudburst raised the water levels of the Giri river, reported news agency ANI.
Also Read: Himachal CM calls on PM, seeks financial help for flood-hit state
River waters can be seen gushing into nearby residential areas, triggering flash floods in the region.
The combined death toll from the rain, floods and landslides in the hill state since the onset of monsoon on June 24 reached 223.
"So far, 223 people have lost their lives in Himachal Pradesh and 295 have been injured. As many as 800 houses have also been damaged completely, while another 7,500 houses have been partially damaged. Scores of local bodies, schools and community centres have also been damaged,” state revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi said.
He further said that chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is overseeing the ongoing restoration work in the state.
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In the recent floods, Himachal Pradesh has suffered losses worth approximately ₹8,000 crore, the statement said. The chief minister said that enormous damage was caused by the floods in all the regions and added that it was the biggest catastrophe witnessed in the state in the last 50 years.
Sukhu said ₹189 crore out of ₹315 crore that was pending under the National Disaster Relief Fund for the last few years due to audit objections has been released by the Union government.
Meanwhile, an earthquake of magnitude 3.4 jolted Lahaul and Spiti districts on Wednesday. According to the National Center for Seismology (NCS), the earthquake occurred at a depth of 5km.
"Earthquake of Magnitude:3.4, Occurred on 09-08-2023, 23:20:41 IST, Lat: 32.30 & Long: 78.47, Depth: 5 Km , Location: Lahaul And Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, India," read a post on the official 'X' handle of NCS.
(With inputs from ANI)
