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Two dead, four missing as floods,cloudburst hit Himachal areas
Two persons were killed and four were feared missing in various incidents due to heavy rains and flash floods triggered by a cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, officials said.
Two persons were killed and four were feared missing in various incidents due to heavy rains and flash floods triggered by a cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, officials said.
The weather department has issued a yellow alert (watch and stay updated) for the state for the next three days. Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur reviewed the administration’s preparedness to tackle various emergency situations with officials of all districts via video conferencing.
The cloudburst took place in Chojh village in Challal panchayat of Kullu district at around 6 am. Though rescue teams were rushed on time, they were stuck midway due to landslides, special secretary (revenue) and State Disaster Management Authority director Sudesh Mokta said.
One woman was killed and four persons were feared missing in the flash floods. Three persons were feared drowned in separate parts of Kullu district amid the rains, he said.
“We could not trace any missing person during the rescue operations. Rescue operations will resume tomorrow,” Kullu superintendent of police Gurudev Sharma said. Five cattle were killed in the floods.
At least 30 employees working at Malana power project in the district were rescued from a building that was damaged by the flash floods, Mokta said. A bridge across Parvati River was also damaged in the floods, according to Mokta.
The floodgates of Larje and Pandoh dams are being opened and the people living in downstream areas have been put on a high alert, officials said.
Two persons were injured in a landslide at Saloti village in Nirmand tehsil of Kullu district, officials said. The duo were provided treatment at the zonal hospital in Nirmand.
The landslide blocked traffic on Bagha-Shnan road and efforts are on to remove the boulders, they added.
In Shimla, a 14-year-old girl was killed in a landslide on Dhalli-Tuttikandi bypass, according to deputy superintendent of police (SP) Kamal Thakur. The deceased was identified as Kareena, daughter of Satpal, a resident of Haryana.
Kareena’s elder sister Kulwinder (24) and another teenager, Asha, were injured in the incident and rushed to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital in Shimla, Thakur said.
Two vehicles parked along the road were damaged in the incident, he added.
The weather body had issued an orange alert (be prepared) for Wednesday.
“There is likely to be heavy to very heavy rain in isolated pockets in the plains and mid-hills on Thursday,” Shimla meteorological department director Surender Paul said.
Officials warned of essential services getting hit and also cautioned commuters against landslides in the wake of the heavy rain.
Chief minister Thakur reviewed the administration’s arrangements to tackle various emergency situations arising out of heavy rain with deputy commissioners and superintendents of police of all the districts through video conferencing from Shimla.
Thakur directed officers to make foolproof arrangements for managing disasters that are arising due to heavy rains.
According to people aware of the details, Thakur said an adequate number of people and machinery should be deployed in natural calamities-prone areas.
(With agency inputs)
