Cloudbursts and flash floods triggered by heavy overnight rains battered Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district, leaving five people dead, five injured and at least 16 missing Tuesday, prompting authorities to deploy personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and the police for rescue operations.
The state witnessed 11 cloudburst incidents, four flash floods and a major landslide Tuesday, most of them in Mandi district, disrupting normal life. Mandi received extensively high rainfall of 253.8 mm since Monday.
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).
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. All educational institutions in Kangra, Hamirpur, Mandi and Shimla districts remained closed on Tuesday due to a heavy rain alert.
Vehicles stuck in silt and debris after flash floods (PTI)
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Centre in Shimla has forecast continuous rainfall across the state for the next seven days. An orange alert for heavy rain has been issued for five days, while a yellow alert is in place for two days.
According to the Disaster Management Authority in Mandi, Padam Singh (75) and his wife Devku Devi (70), Jhabe Ram (50) and his wife Parvati Devi (47), Surmi Devi (70), Indra Dev (29) and his wife Umavati (27), their daughter Kanika (9) and their seven-year-old son Gautam went missing from Gohar sub-division.
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The water discharge from the Pandoh Dam has reached 157,000 cusecs, causing flooding in the Beas river. As a result, the Pandoh market is now inundated, and residents have vacated their homes, with SDRF taking charge of operations.
The water was released after the water level of Pandoh Dam reached 2,922 feet against the danger mark of 2,941 feet.
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.
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Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said, “According to the preliminary assessment, losses worth Rs 500 crore have been reported. The Beas River is in spate. A woman’s body has been recovered from the banks of the Beas in Nadaun. Damage reports are continuously coming in from several areas; thus, the total loss figure may increase.”
The CM said, “Power projects have suffered the most damage due to the rains, and operations have been affected. The increasing number of cloudburst incidents over the past two to three years is a matter of concern… the causes are being reviewed.”
