At least five people died and 16 others are missing as cloudburst, flash floods wreaked havoc in Hianchal’s Mandi on Tuesday. The state witnessed 11 cloudburst incidents, four flash floods and a major landslide on Tuesday, most of them in Mandi district, disrupting normal life.
Over 10 houses damaged in Himachal Pradesh
Mandi received extensively high rainfall of 253.8 mm since Monday evening. Over 10 houses, 12 cattle sheds, one bridge and several roads have been damaged, 26 cattle perished and efforts are on to rescue stranded nine people in Mandi district, officials said.
A total of 287 people including 233 in Mandi, 51 in Hamirpur and three in Chamba have been rescued safely, according to the state emergency operation centre.
Cloudbursts were reported in four places in Mandi
In Mandi district, cloudbursts were reported in four places in Gohar, three in Karsog, two in Dharampur and one place in Thunag.
Two deaths were reported in Bada and one in Talwara, both in Gohar area, one in old Bazaar in Karsog while one body was recovered at Neri-Kotla in Jogindernagar.
Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, Apoorv Devgan said that several people have been rescued and shifted to safe places as cloudbursts and flash floods following heavy rains caused extensive damage at some places in the district.
Rescue operations underway by NDRF
Two teams each of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with police and home guards are engaged in search and rescue operations in the district.
All the rivers and streams in the district are in full spate and over 1.5 lakh cusecs of water has been released from the Pandoh Dam over Beas river.
The water was released after the water level of Pandoh Dam reached 2,922 feet against the danger mark of 2,941 feet.
Several roads closed in Himachal
The Chandigarh-Manali four-lane road is currently blocked at multiple locations, including nine miles, Dwada, Jhalogi, and Banala while the route via Kamand-Kataula-Bajaura is open for Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) only. Commuters are facing inconvenience due to traffic issues at several places.
So far, Himachal Pradesh has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 500 crore since the onset of monsoon season on June 20, said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu while talking to reporters in Hamirpur.
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.
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