As many as 22 people have been killed since Friday in various incidents of landslide and flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh. According to official accounts, 10 people have suffered injuries, while another six are feared dead in as many as 36 weather-related incidents that have been reported from the state.
According to a PTI report, the maximum damage has been reported from Mandi, Kangra, and Chamba districts, state disaster management department director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said, adding as many as 743 roads have been blocked for traffic.
The Manali-Chandigarh national highway at Mandi and the Shimla-Chandigarh highway at Shoghi have also been blocked.
The weather department has sounded an orange alert in the state for the next 12 hours, and yellow alert till August 24. It also warned of moderate to heavy rains across the state for the next five days.
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Of the total deaths, 13 have been reported from Mandi alone where six others are said to be missing in flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall, deputy commissioner Arindam Chaudhary said. Those missing are feared dead, he added.
The bodies of eight members of a family were found from the debris of their house by officials at Kashan village in Gohar development block, he added. The house collapsed during a landslide.
{{/usCountry}}The bodies of eight members of a family were found from the debris of their house by officials at Kashan village in Gohar development block, he added. The house collapsed during a landslide.
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Two people were killed and two others injured as boulders hit their car in Shimla's Theog, Mokhta further said.
Three people were killed after their house collapsed following a landslide at Banet village in Chowari of Chamba around 4.30 am, the official added.
In Kangra, a "kutcha" house collapsed, killing a nine-year-old child, officials said.
Meanwhile, train services on the Jogindernagar-Pathankot route have been suspended as the Chakki Bridge -- declared unsafe by the railways -- collapsed due to heavy rainfall on Saturday.
Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur and BJP president JP Nadda expressed grief over the deaths and said the administration is carrying out rescue operations on a war footing in affected districts.
(With PTI, ANI inputs)