Severe rains in Himachal Pradesh resulted in landslides and flash floods in a number of locations, killing six people and injuring about ten more, as per the official estimates.
The Principal Secretary for Disaster Management in Himachal Pradesh, Onkar Chand Sharma, stated today, “Six people have died to now and around 10 people have been injured. A total of 303 animals have died.” The complete report is still awaited.
“The loss due to rain is expected to be Rs 3 crore. Meanwhile, 124 roads have been damaged which includes two national highways,” the senior Disaster Management official said.
#WATCH | Himachal Pradesh | Flash flood witnessed in Bagi, Mandi following incessant heavy rainfall here. pic.twitter.com/EvWKyQefgG
— ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2023
At 7 Mile in Mandi, there were significant traffic backups on the Chandigarh-Manali route. Aerial views revealed that farther ahead, traffic was moving slowly or not at all.
The Mandi-Kullu National Highway (NH) was stopped by the Mandi police on Sunday due to the terrible weather and nonstop rain. On Sunday, the local police also shut the Mandi-Joginder Nagar Highway’s other route.
#WATCH | Himachal Pradesh | Several parts of Kangra City face waterlogging following incessant rainfall.
IMD Himachal Pradesh issued flash flood risk warning for 24 hours today. Moderate to high risk is expected over a few watersheds and neighbourhoods of Chamba, Kangra, Kullu,… pic.twitter.com/4qdmxEmoLx
— ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2023
“We are trying our best to open the road within three hours. People who are facing problems are being sent by other buses: Sakini Kapoor, SHO, Mandi
A flash flood hit the Bagipul area of the State’s Mandi district, with over 200 people including tourists and locals stranded, police said on Sunday.
Sanjeev Sood, Deputy Superintendant of Police Padhar, Mandi District Police told the sources that people are being evacuated to safer places in the region.
According to Onkar Chand Sharma, the administration had held on June 21 meeting with the line departments and duty commissioners to discuss preparations for the monsoon.
Officials of the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, the Central Water Commission (CWC) and those from the Civil Defence, as well as the India Meteorological Department (IMD), were present at the meeting.
“The state has been receiving monsoon rains for the past 3 days. We have been getting updates of heavy rain, flash floods and landslides from various parts of the state,” Onkar Chand Sharma said.
“A total of 151 DTR services has been disrupted. Six water supply schemes have also been affected. We have reports of one fire incident so far,” the official said.
Sharma said rescue operations for those stranded in the adverse disaster conditions are being undertaken and urged people to follow protocols and warnings issued by the state.
“Several tourists have been rescued with the help of the locals. We request all tourists coming here follow all the guidelines issued by the state government and Disaster Management,” he said.
The official said that Mandi-Parashar area has suffered flash floods where stranded people were rescued. The NDRF, SDRF and Civil Defence officials have been pre-positioned in several areas and are ready to carry out rescue operations and other relief measures from wherever we receive alerts,” Onkar Chand Sharma said.
The official said that an alert issued in the state will continue for another 24 hours.
“We should be prepared for these incidents throughout the monsoon season, this is just the onset. The people are alerted through IMD and District administration. We also encourage people to download the SACHET app through which they will be notified of local as well as national disaster alerts,” the official said.
He added that restoration work will be ongoing and the authorities will remain alert for reports of any new damages or disasters.
“The restoration work is consistently going on. As rainfall reduces, the 124 roads will be restored. However, since heavy rainfall will persist, we are also on alert for more damage to the roads and water supplies, so that we can begin restoring them immediately,” he added.
