Latest news with #HimachalPradeshStateDisasterManagementAuthority
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India.com
5 days ago
- Climate
- India.com
Himachal Devastation: 46 Lives Lost, 27 Missing As Monsoon Havoc Grips Mandi District
Over the past nine days, torrential monsoon rains have wreaked widespread devastation across Himachal Pradesh, claiming a total of 46 lives, including 15 rain-related deaths and 31 fatalities from road accidents, according to the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (HP SDMA). The disaster has left 27 people missing, all from rain-related incidents, with five more injured. The worst-hit district continues to be Mandi, where all 15 rain-related deaths and the majority of the 27 missing persons have been reported. The casualties are the result of cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall since June 30. The HP SDMA report, released on July 10, details the staggering scale of destruction. According to HP SDMA, "Rain-related deaths are 15, 27 persons are missing, five are injured, road accident deaths stand at 31, 290 people have been rescued in Mandi alone, 100 to 150 people have been evacuated from Pandoh Market due to Beas River surge. 677 people are currently in relief camps across 17 centres." HP SDMA report further said that damage to property and infrastructure includes 1,198 houses (fully and partially damaged), 731 cowsheds, 203 shops, 780 cattle lost, 31 vehicles damaged, 14 bridges damaged, 1 hydroelectric project was damaged. The HP SDMA report said that Thunag is the epicentre of the disaster. "The Thunag subdivision in Mandi has suffered the heaviest losses. 959 houses damaged, 395 cowsheds, 190 shops, 559 livestock lost, 30 vehicles, 6 bridges damaged, 92 horticulture students and two pregnant women were rescued from the area with the help of Indian Air Force helicopters and NDRF teams," the report said. Multiple incidents were reported across villages like Pakhrair, Deji, Lambathach, Siyanj, Kutti Nallah, and Pandav Sheela, where search and rescue teams from NDRF, SDRF, Army, and ITBP are deployed. In some cases, entire families were washed away or rendered homeless. Relief teams continue to work on identifying and recovering the missing. Emergency response teams have distributed 2,657 ration kits, including food, hygiene items, and medicine, 3,603 tarpaulins for temporary shelter. Immediate relief funds totalling Rs 37.20 lakh have been disbursed across affected subdivisions such as Thunag, Jhanjheli, Gohar, Dharampur, Karsog, and others. The State Emergency Operation Centre reported that health, veterinary, PWD, and water supply teams are also actively engaged in restoration efforts. Over 2,000 personnel, dozens of JCBs, and drone surveillance teams are being utilised for damage mapping and relief coordination. Authorities caution that the situation remains critical, with rains continuing in several regions. Landslide-prone zones remain vulnerable, and evacuation protocols are in place in low-lying and river-adjacent areas. The HP SDMA has urged the public to follow advisories, avoid travel in high-risk areas, and cooperate with rescue and relief authorities as efforts intensify across affected districts.
NDTV
07-07-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Video: In 'Pushpa' -Esque Scene, Lakhs Of Logs Float Down Stream In Himachal Pradesh
In a scene that could have been straight out of the blockbuster 'Pushpa: The Rise', wooden logs worth crores were spotted floating down a river in Himachal Pradesh. A viral video taken from atop a bridge shows lakhs of wooden logs floating near the Pandoh Dam in Mandi after floating downstream from Kullu. In the movie 'Pushpa: The Rise' the protagonist played by Allu Arjun is involved in the trade of red sandalwood and, to avoid getting caught at police checkpoints, he dumps the logs in a stream and retrieves them at a dam downstream. The Himachal video was from June 24 and the opposition said it could point to illegal timber cutting in forests in the state, with the smugglers employing a similar modus operandi. The state government, while pointing out that the logs could be a result of trees getting uprooted because of flash floods, has ordered a Crime Investigation Department (CID) inquiry. After a meeting of the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority chaired by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu on Monday, his principal adviser Naresh Chauhan said in Hindi, "We took action immediately and asked officials from the forest department to find out what happened. People are saying there could be illegal tree felling, but the floating logs could be a result of cloudbursts. Trees get uprooted and other logs that lie on the forest floor for years are also swept away." "We have taken this very seriously, however, and Chief Minister Sukhu has ordered an inquiry to find out if there is any illegal felling. We are also helping everyone affected by the cloudbursts in the state," he added. Himachal Pradesh has seen at least 23 flash floods, 19 cloudbursts and 16 landslides since the onset of the monsoon on June 20. At least 78 people have died and over 30 are missing.
Time of India
01-07-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
Breaking News Live Updates: Red alert in Himachal Pradesh as monsoon rains spark severe flood warning
Breaking News Live Updates: Heavy rain has pushed the Beas River into severe flooding. Himachal Pradesh woke up to blocked roads, power cuts and broken pipelines as the monsoon tightened its grip. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) raised a red alert for the state. The rain hasn't paused, crippling daily life and cutting people off from basic services. Massive disruptions across districts The Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (HPSDMA) counted 259 roads blocked and 614 transformers knocked out. Water supply lines took a big hit too — 130 schemes stopped flowing overnight. 'The monsoon is intensifying its grip, and the impact is visible across multiple districts. Roads, power lines, and water systems are all severely affected,' said an official from the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC). He added that field teams are trying day and night to fix what's broken. Mandi district is the worst affected. It alone reported 139 roads blocked and 314 power transformers damaged — most of them in Gohar, Mandi II and J Nagar. A landslide at Jagatkhana in Bilaspur choked the highway, forcing traffic into a single lane. Floodwater at Pandoh in Mandi only made matters worse. Kullu, Sirmaur and Lahaul also reeling Sirmaur district counted 92 water schemes hit, including 19 in Nohradhar. Kullu has 20 roads blocked and 47 water schemes down in Kullu, Largi and Anni sub-divisions. Spiti Valley in Lahaul and Spiti saw 139 transformers fail in one blow. An official from the Revenue and Disaster Management Department said, 'Our top priority is restoring access and utilities in the worst-hit areas like Mandi, Sirmaur, and Kullu. Repair teams are being deployed with urgency.' Landslides trigger highway chaos On Monday, landslides and shooting stones shut down the Chandigarh-Manali highway for hours. Traffic was halted near Thalout, Larji and 9 Mile in Mandi. Commuters had no choice but to crawl along link roads or wait for bulldozers to clear debris. At Thalout, falling rocks blocked the road by the tunnel exit for two hours. A local official explained, 'The highway got blocked near 9 Mile late Sunday night due to a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall. By the time the landslide debris was cleared in the morning hours, there were more landslides and incidents of shooting stones; that's why it took time to restore the traffic movement.' Police warned of more falling stones near 4 Mile, 7 Mile and Dwara — known danger spots when the hills are soaked. US brings charges in North Korean remote worker scheme that officials say funds weapons program The Justice Department announced criminal charges Monday in a scheme by North Korea to fund its weapons program through the salaries of remote information technology workers employed unwittingly by U.S. companies. The charges arose from what law enforcement officials described as a nationwide operation that also resulted in the seizure of financial accounts, websites and laptops that were used to carry out the fraud. Separate cases in Georgia and Massachusetts represent the latest Justice Department effort to confront a persistent threat that officials say generates enormous revenue for the North Korean government and in some cases affords workers access to sensitive and proprietary data from the American corporations that hire them. The scheme involved thousands of workers who, armed with stolen or fake identities, were dispatched by the North Korean government to find work as remote IT employees at American companies, including Fortune 500 corporations. The companies were duped into believing that the workers they hired were based in the U.S. when many were actually stationed in North Korea or China, and the wages the victimized companies paid were transferred into accounts controlled by co-conspirators affiliated with North Korea, prosecutors say. Senate votes on amendments to Trump's big bill ahead of July 4 deadline Possible changes to President Donald Trump's big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts are being considered in what's called a vote-a-rama, though most of the amendments are expected to fail. After a weekend of setbacks, the Senate is rushing Monday to move ahead with the bill despite a series of challenges. The hours ahead will be pivotal for the Republicans, who have control of Congress and are racing against Trump's self-imposed July 4 deadline. The 940-page ' One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' as it is now formally titled, has consumed Congress as its shared priority with the president, with no room politically to fail, even as not all Republicans are on board. Tropical storm Flossie strengthens, set to become hurricane off Mexico's Pacific coast Tropical storm Flossie continued to gain steam off Mexico's southwestern Pacific coast on Monday afternoon and was projected to turn into a hurricane overnight. Meanwhile, the remnants of what was tropical storm Barry dumped rain on eastern Mexico. Flossie strengthened with maximum sustained winds of 100 kph. It was centred about 270 km southwest of Zihuatanejo and was moving northwest at over 19 kmph. Mexico's government issued a tropical storm warning along the southwestern coast from Punta San Telmo to Playa Perula. Bhubaneswar MP Sarangi condemns assault of Municipal officer, demands strict action Bhubaneswar MP and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Aparajita Sarangi condemned the assault of Ratnakar Sahoo, Additional Commissioner of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, saying that the act does not align with the party's principles. Some miscreants have allegedly assaulted Additional Commissioner of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), Ratnakar Sahoo, inside the office of the civic body during a grievance redressal meeting on Monday. Sarangi requested Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to take strict action against those who commit similar crimes. "The incident that happened in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation is condemnable... The police are taking action. I request that the CM and the police take strict action against those who committed such a crime to prevent further repetition of such crimes," she told ANI. Himachal Pradesh: Due to very heavy rainfall in the region, the Beas River is experiencing severe flooding. Red alert in Himachal Pradesh as monsoon rains spark severe flood warning Heavy rain has pushed the Beas River into severe flooding. Himachal Pradesh woke up to blocked roads, power cuts and broken pipelines as the monsoon tightened its grip. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) raised a red alert for the state. The rain hasn't paused, crippling daily life and cutting people off from basic services. Massive disruptions across districts The Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (HPSDMA) counted 259 roads blocked and 614 transformers knocked out. Water supply lines took a big hit too — 130 schemes stopped flowing overnight. 'The monsoon is intensifying its grip, and the impact is visible across multiple districts. Roads, power lines, and water systems are all severely affected,' said an official from the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC). He added that field teams are trying day and night to fix what's broken. Mandi district is the worst affected. It alone reported 139 roads blocked and 314 power transformers damaged — most of them in Gohar, Mandi II and J Nagar. A landslide at Jagatkhana in Bilaspur choked the highway, forcing traffic into a single lane. Floodwater at Pandoh in Mandi only made matters worse. Kullu, Sirmaur and Lahaul also reeling Sirmaur district counted 92 water schemes hit, including 19 in Nohradhar. Kullu has 20 roads blocked and 47 water schemes down in Kullu, Largi and Anni sub-divisions. Spiti Valley in Lahaul and Spiti saw 139 transformers fail in one blow. An official from the Revenue and Disaster Management Department said, 'Our top priority is restoring access and utilities in the worst-hit areas like Mandi, Sirmaur, and Kullu. Repair teams are being deployed with urgency.' Landslides trigger highway chaos On Monday, landslides and shooting stones shut down the Chandigarh-Manali highway for hours. Traffic was halted near Thalout, Larji and 9 Mile in Mandi. Commuters had no choice but to crawl along link roads or wait for bulldozers to clear debris. At Thalout, falling rocks blocked the road by the tunnel exit for two hours. A local official explained, 'The highway got blocked near 9 Mile late Sunday night due to a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall. By the time the landslide debris was cleared in the morning hours, there were more landslides and incidents of shooting stones; that's why it took time to restore the traffic movement.' Police warned of more falling stones near 4 Mile, 7 Mile and Dwara — known danger spots when the hills are soaked.
Hindustan Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Himachal to hold ‘Operation Abhyas' in Shimla today
May 07, 2025 08:36 AM IST As part of a nationwide drive, mock drill, 'Operation Abhyas', will be held at two locations in Shimla city on Wednesday, officials said. The drills will be conducted on the premises of the deputy commissioner's office in Shimla and the parking lot in Sanjauli. A meeting of the advisory committee on civil defence was held under the aegis of the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (HPSDMA) in Shimla on Tuesday (HT File) Blackout will be done in the city from 7.20 pm to 7.30pm, deputy commissioner Anupam Kashyap said. A meeting of the advisory committee on civil defence was held under the aegis of the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (HPSDMA) in Shimla on Tuesday. Presiding over the meeting, chief secretary Pramod Saxena said, 'The first mock drill will be conducted in Shimla on May 7, following which similar exercises will be held in other districts of the state in a phased manner.' The chief secretary highlighted key responsibilities for district administrations, including enrolment of civil defence wardens and volunteers, conducting risk assessments, identification of vulnerable areas, implementation of air raid warning systems, blackout, camouflage protocols, regular formulation and rehearsal of CD plans, preparation and updating of evacuation plans, augmentation of emergency services such as medical aid, food, water and fire safety, and conducting civilian training and awareness drives.
