Heavy rain has again battered parts of Himachal Pradesh, triggering floods and landslides. As a result of the heavy downpour, floodwaters inundated a bus depot in Mandi district, while the state capital, Shimla and nearby areas also reported multiple landslides.
In Mandi, the rainfall began at around 11 pm on Monday. By 1 am on Tuesday, the downpour grew so intense that people stepped out of their houses in fear and panic.
The Sauli Khad river, which flows through the district, began to overflow and as a result, the bus depot in Dharampur sub-division was completely submerged.
The raging floodwaters swept away several buses from the depot, as well as other vehicles, including cars and two-wheelers, that were parked nearby.
Several houses were also flooded.
Dharampur Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Sanjeev Sood said that evacuation work continued through the night and there has been no report of any deaths so far.
“The police are currently verifying a report of a shopkeeper being swept away along with his vehicle. Flood debris have littered a number of houses and shops. The river water level is returning to normal,” he added.
On Tuesday morning, a massive landslide occurred in Shimla’s Himland area, trapping several vehicles and blocking the road, leading to disruption of traffic.
Meanwhile, officials have ordered the suspension of all adventure activities, including rafting and paragliding, in Kullu till September 30 in the wake of the heavy rain and flash floods.
As a result of the ongoing bad weather conditions, activity sites at Dobhi and adjoining river areas, have suffered extensive damage, making operations unsafe.
Since the onset of the monsoon season on June 20, a total of 409 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents in Himachal Pradesh, while 41 remain unaccounted for.
Among those killed, 180 people died in road accidents.
So far, the state has suffered a loss of Rs 4,504 crore, as per official statistics.
Himachal received an average rainfall of 991.1 mm during the ongoing monsoon season from June 1 to September 15 against the normal rainfall of 689.6 mm, an excess of 44 per cent, the Met Department said.
– Ends
(Inputs by Dharam Veer)