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Time of India
14 hours ago
- Climate
- Time of India
Monsoon havoc in Himachal: 5 dead, 16 missing in Mandi; over 400 roads closed across state
Cloudbursts and flash floods triggered by heavy overnight rains battered Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district, leaving five people dead, five injured and 16 missing, officials said on Tuesday. The state witnessed 11 cloudburst incidents, four flash floods and a major landslide on Tuesday, most of them in Mandi district, disrupting normal life. Mandi received extensively high rainfall of 253.8 mm since Monday evening. The MeT office has issued an 'orange' warning for heavy to very heavy rains, thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places in three districts of Kangra, Solan and Sirmaur on Wednesday, and four districts of Una, Hamirpur, Kangra and Mandi on Saturday. A total of 406 roads are closed in the state following rains, out of which 248 are in Mandi district alone where 994 transformers have also been disrupted, according to the state emergency operation centre (SEOC). Live Events Twenty four houses, 12 cattle sheds, one bridge and several roads have been damaged, 30 cattle perished and efforts are on to rescue nine stranded people in Mandi district, the officials said. A total of 332 people, including 278 in Mandi, 51 in Hamirpur and three in Chamba, have been rescued, the SEOC said. In Mandi district, cloudbursts were reported in four places in Gohar, three in Karsog, two in Dharampur and one place in Thunag. Two deaths were reported in Bada and one in Talwara, both in Gohar area, one in old Bazaar in Karsog while one body was recovered at Neri-Kotla in Jogindernagar. Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, Apoorv Devgan said that several people have been rescued and shifted to safe places as cloudbursts and flash floods following heavy rains caused extensive damage at some places in the district. Two teams each of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with police and home guards are engaged in search and rescue operations in the district. All the rivers and streams in the district are in full spate and over 1.5 lakh cusecs of water has been released from the Pandoh Dam over Beas river. The water was released after the water level of Pandoh Dam reached 2,922 feet against the danger mark of 2,941 feet. The Chandigarh-Manali four-lane road is currently blocked at multiple locations, including nine miles, Dwada, Jhalogi, and Banala while the route via Kamand-Kataula-Bajaura is open for Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) only. Commuters are facing inconvenience due to traffic issues at several places. So far, Himachal Pradesh has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 500 crore since the onset of monsoon season on June 20, said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu while talking to reporters in Hamirpur. There has been an increase in cloudburst incidents in the last two-three years, which is worrying and the reason behind this is being reviewed, he said and appealed to the people not to go to the river banks and drains. Meanwhile, 51 people, including 30 labourers, stranded in Ballah village in Hamirpur district were also rescued following a sudden surge in the Beas river inundated low-lying areas of Ballah early in the day after water was released from Pandoh Dam. Reports of damage to 'kutcha' houses, water pipeline and power cables are also coming in from Hamirpur district and people are forced to move on foot as the road from Sujanpur Tira to Sandhol on the left bank of Beas is partially submerged and blocked for vehicular traffic. In the wake of heavy rains, the district administrations of Mandi and Hamirpur closed schools on Tuesday. However, some students had already reached schools as information to this effect was not delivered on time in Hamirpur district, said locals. The weather department has warned of low to moderate flash-flood risk in parts of six districts of Chamba, Hamirpur, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur and Solan in the next 24 hours. The Met office issued a 'yellow' alert for heavy rains in most parts of the hill state till July 5. In view of heavy rains, the office of Director General of Police issued special directives to the district police to provide immediate relief to stranded people and evacuate them, remain on high alert, ensure safety of relief camps, regulate traffic and monitor rumours on social media. Meanwhile, Union minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said a robust weather forecast system is in place but predicting the magnitude of a cloudburst is still difficult. The number of automatic weather stations is being increased to improve accuracy and soon area-specific weather predictions would be provided, the science and technology minister told reporters here.
Hans India
a day ago
- Climate
- Hans India
One killed, nine missing in multiple cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi
Shimla: One person was reportedly killed and at least nine people went missing in multiple cloudbursts overnight in Karsog division of Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district, officials said on Tuesday. The cloudbursts triggered flash floods that washed away many houses. At least 41 people have been rescued by the district administration and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). According to reports, 10 houses and a bridge were swept away by floods in Kuklah. In Mandi district, the 16-MW Patikari Hydro-Electric Power Project has also been washed away. The run-of-the-river power project is built on the Bakhli Khad, a left-bank tributary of the Beas river. Owing to the heavy inflow of water, 150,000 cusecs of water have been released from the Pandoh Dam. The situation turned critical as the downpour in the Beas upper catchment led to a sharp increase in inflow at Pandoh Dam. Locals and tourists have been strictly warned to stay away from the riverbanks. The 126-MW Larji Hydro Electric Project in Kullu also saw an abnormal rise in water discharge. Owing to heavy rain, Mandi District Magistrate Apoorv Devgan ordered the closure of all schools and educational institutions in the district on Tuesday as a precautionary step. Torrential rain continued across the state, resulting in flash floods. A day earlier, a five-storey building collapsed in the suburbs of Shimla city. However, no lives were lost, as residents had vacated the building. The state suffered a loss of Rs 75.69 crore till Monday due to torrential rain that has occurred across the state in the past 10 days. As per the Revenue Department, the state has witnessed 23 deaths as a result of flash floods, cloudbursts, drowning, etc, from June 20 to June 30. Also, 259 link roads across the state remain closed, while 614 distribution transformers and 144 water supply schemes across the state remain disrupted.
