In Himachal Pradesh alone, five people died in rain-related incidents, with three people from a family killed after their house collapsed due to a landslide in Kotgarh’s Panevali village. Another landslide at Kakiyan in Chamba buried one person who was later found dead and a woman’s body was also recovered from the landslide debris in Kullu’s Lankabekar village. Officials said more than 250 roads in the state were closed and most rivers and streams were flowing above the danger mark.
The most dramatic visuals came from the tourist destinations of Kullu and Manali, where shops, parked cars and even a section of the national highway fell into the swirling waters of the Beas river. In Lahaul-Spiti, 30 college students stranded between Granphu and Chhota Darra after flash flood on Samdo Kaza-Granphu road were rescued during a night operation.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for extremely heavy rainfall in five districts of Chamba, Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur Bilaspur, Una, Shimla, Solan, Kullu and Sirmaur. It also issued a flash flood warning for Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Sirmaur, Shimla and Mandi on Monday. The floods forced authorities to open the floodgates of the Pandoh Dam and people living in downstream areas were advised to stay away from the river.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said there were reports of extensive damage in several parts. “People are advised to avoid travel until absolutely necessary. Authorities have been ordered to remain vigilant and provide all possible assistance to the affected people,” he tweeted. A total of 45 people have been killed in the state since the monsoon began last month.
In neighboring Uttarakhand, an elderly couple was killed in Kashipur after their house collapsed amid heavy rains, and at least three pilgrims drowned in the Ganga after their jeep fell into the river in a landslide near Gular on the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway. State Disaster Response Force officials said 11 people were in the jeep, and while five were rescued and three bodies recovered, three more people were being sought.
The IMD Dehradun center has issued a red alert for heavy rainfall in various parts of the state for the next two days. Officials said the swollen Gaula river is eroding the land near the Haldwani railway station, prompting the railway authorities and the district administration to use JCB machines and sandbags in the river bed to divert the flow of the river off the track.
In Jammu and Kashmir, rains forced the suspension of the Amarnath Yatra for the second consecutive day, with rains also forecast for the next 24 hours. The tourist resort of Pahalgam, which serves as the base camp for the Amarnath Yatra, recorded the highest total rainfall of 73.3 mm in July, with the previous best being 60.44 mm in July 1983.
Two people were killed in Jammu and Kashmir after a landslide hit a passenger bus in Doda town, while in Kupwara’d Jagerpora village, three minor girls were washed away by the waters of Phoru river. Two girls were rescued by local villagers, but one is still missing and efforts are on to trace her. In Kulgam, Mirbazar police received distress calls from people of Zadoora, Bumthan and Peerfurrah, who live on the banks of Vaishnav and Sandran rivers, saying that families living in temporary tents needed evacuation. “Police teams along with the civil administration, UTDRF, under the strict supervision of SSP Kulgam were set up to rescue the families. With the diligent efforts of the joint teams, all the family members were evacuated and shifted to safer places,” said a police spokesperson.
In Haryana, extensive water extraction has taken place in the low-lying areas of Panipat, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Yamunanagar, Kaithal and Ambala, affecting residential areas, markets and key roads. The flow of Yamuna breached the danger mark of 70,000 cusecs at Hathini Kund barrage at 12 noon and is flowing at the rate of 84,000 cusecs. There was also devastation in rural areas, with the waters of the Markanda River, for example, entering the villages of Tangor, Jharoli Khurd, Kathwa and Jhansa in Kurukshetra district.
Read Now:Heavy rain to continue over North: Landslides in Himachal, schools closed in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram
