4 killed, 49 missing after five overnight cloudbursts in Himachal

Shimla: Four persons have been killed while 49 went missing after five overnight cloudbursts and heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh that triggered massive landslides and flashfloods, washing away six bridges, 20 houses and six shops, an official said on Thursday.

According to the state’s disaster management authority, the damage was mainly in Shimla, Kullu and Mandi districts.

This was the second massive devastation caused by cloudbursts in the Himalayan state in less than a year.

The state has seen heavy rains, leading to the blockage of roads. Several videos on social media have shown buildings collapsing in seconds.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda called Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu and inquired about the situation in the state.

“Two additional battalions of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed by the Centre for relief and rescue operations,” Sukhu told the media after chairing a high-level meeting here to review the rescue and relief operations.

He said Rampur tehsil in Shimla, Padhar tehsil in Mandi and Jaon in Nirmand village of Kullu were the worst hit.

The Indian Army and the Indian Air Force have been requested to remain on high alert to handle any exigency as the Met Department predicted that heavy rainfall would continue for the next 36 hours.

The tourist resort of Manali has been cut off after damage to the National Highway.

The Chief Minister said the worst affected place was the Samej area of Jhakri in Shimla district where a residential area had also been affected due to cloudburst.

The Chief Minister, who is visiting disaster-hit Rampur areas on Friday, said teams of NDRF, SDRF, police, Home Guard and fire services have been engaged in relief, search and rescue operations.

“The local administration has been instructed to carry out relief and rescue operations smoothly. I am in touch with officials and monitoring the relief and rescue operations,” he wrote on X, adding: “The state government is committed to provide all possible assistance.”

In Rampur, three persons have gone missing.

In Mandi district, three deaths were reported, while one in Kullu district. Teams of the ITBP, SDRF and Home Guards are conducting search and rescue operations there.

According to Mandi Police, a cloudburst occurred in Rajban Village near Terang in which two houses were washed away, and one house was partially damaged. Seven people have been missing since then and one injured person has been rescued.

The Met Office in Shimla has issued an ‘orange’ alert for heavy to very heavy rain, accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning, at isolated places in the state for the next 24 hours.

Reports say flash floods in the Beas and Parvati rivers in Kullu District have damaged public and private property.

The weather office also warned of the possibility of landslides and flash floods in vulnerable areas of Kullu, Solan, Sirmaur, Shimla and Kinnaur districts.

The National Highway between Kullu and Manali has been blocked due to a flood near Kalath. The road in Palchan has also been damaged.

The Manali-Leh road has been closed due to massive landslides and the Manali administration remained busy throughout the night alerting people.

Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) (Manali) Raman Sharma told the media that the police personnel kept alerting the people living on the river banks by sounding sirens throughout the night.

He urged people to leave their homes only in case of emergency and not to travel.

IANS