Rains wreak havoc in HP, three killed, 50 missing

Three people were killed and about 50 went missing after two separate incidents of cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh where rains washed away many houses and roads and left two hydro power projects damaged, officials said on Thursday. A cloudburst at Samagh Khud (nallah) in Rampur subdivision of Shimla district left two people dead and 28 others missing, Superintendent of Police (SP), Shimla Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi said and added that two people have been rescued from the spot. Deputy Commissioner (DC) Anupam Kashyap said the cloudburst occurred close to 1 am. Revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi said massive damage has been caused due to heavy rains and cloudburst in the state. Road connectivity has been hampered in the affected areas.Four motorable bridges and footbridges have been washed away and rescue operations are going on in full swing, he said, adding the apple crop has also been damaged.
Another cloudburst in Thalatukhod area of Padhar in Mandi district on Wednesday night left one person dead and nine others missing.Few houses have collapsed and the road connectivity has been disrupted. The Mandi district administration has sought assistance from the Indian Air Force and NDRF. According to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, "Cloudburst occurred in Mandi, Shimla and Kullu districts.Around 50 people are missing, 2 bodies have been recovered."

#WATCH | Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu says, "Cloudburst occurred in Mandi, Shimla and Kullu districts today. Around 50 people are missing, 2 bodies have been recovered. NDRF, SDRF, DCs and officials are present at the spot. We have instructed the officials to make… pic.twitter.com/Falruw8cRC

— ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2024

Due to the overflowing Beas River, the Chandigarh-Manali National Highway has been damaged at several places. Reports of houses being damaged in Bhagipul in Kullu have also poured in and an alert has been issued in Bhuntar area of Kullu as the swollen Parvati River and Malana Khud were flooded, damaging Malana I and Malana II hydropower projects.All educational institutions in the affected regions have been closed as authorities focus on rescue and relief operations, officials said.

Himachal Pradesh: A building at the Shat Sabzi Mandi in the Manikaran Valley collapsed after the water level of the Parvati River rose pic.twitter.com/vMlIwMISra

— IANS (@ians_india) August 1, 2024

Monsoon fury has also hit normal life in neighbouring Uttarakhand. Two people died and another was injured after a cloudburst at Jakhanyali in Tehri Garhwal district. The dead have been identified as Bhanu Prasad (50) and Anita Devi (45). A spokesperson from State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) said that they received information about three people missing due to a cloudburst last night.
"During the search, SDRF recovered two bodies and found an injured person in a 200-metre-deep ditch. He was brought out on a stretcher," the spokesperson said, according to an ANI report. In Haridwar, two children died and nine others were injured when the roof of a dilapidated house collapsed after heavy rainfall, said an official.