At least 60 people have died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh since Sunday and the death toll could still rise as work to recover bodies in the debris is going on, said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday.
A fresh round of landslides took place in Shimla on Tuesday in the Krishna Nagar area. Several buildings collapsed in the area, including many houses and a slaughterhouse. At least two person died in the landslide and five to ten more feared to be trapped in the debris.
Shimla and Mandi have emerged as the worst-hit districts in Himachal. A total of 18 people have died in Shimla in three incidents and around 15-20 are still understood to be trapped. In Mandi, 19 deaths have been reported, making it the worst-hit district in the state.
Sukhu has termed the extend of death and destruction in landslides, cloudbursts, and building-collapses since Sunday "unprecedented". When over 50 deaths were reported on Monday within 24 hours, he had said the scale of devastation was unheard of in Himachal's history.
Himachal has witnessed incessant rains in recent days that have landslides, landslips, collapse of houses, and flood-like conditions at several places. Sukhu said 51 deaths were confirmed across the state on Monday and nine were confirmed on Tuesday.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Himachal and has predicted isolated heavy rainfall for next two days.
Here we share all the latest updates related to the Himachal Pradesh rain-related incidents.
Landslide kills 2, destroys many buildings in Shimla
The latest round round of landslides in Shimla destroyed many houses and a slaughterhouse in Shimla's Krishna Nagar area.
Two persons have died in the incident and the body of one of them have been recovered, said CM Sukhu who visited the site.
Visuals show several houses collapsing in the area.
Himachal Pradesh ADG, Law and Order, Abhishek Trivedi told ANI that around 40-50 people were evacuated before the landslide and it is suspected that five to ten people are trapped. He added that the police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel are engaged on the site.
After visiting the site and holding a meeting of the high-powered committee on disaster management, Sukhu said the buildings had been vacated as they were vulnerable but one person went to the slaughterhouse to collect cash and lost his life when the buildings in the area collapsed.
Himachal has had losses worth Rs 10,000 crore: CM Sukhu
Himachal CM Sukhu said on Tuesday that the state has suffered damages worth Rs 10,000 crore since the beginning of monsoon season this year.
When asked about the landslide at Shiv Mandir in Shimla's Summer Hill, Sukhu said the hopes have now passed and only bodies are left to be recovered.
"It is estimated that the state has had damages worth Rs 10,000 crore. In today's landslides, we had vacated the houses, but mistakes happen. One body has been recovered and the leg of another has been sighted and is being recovered...With so much time passed, our hopes have ended [at Shiv Mandir]. Now, the work is to only recover bodies and we are concluding it," said Sukhu in a video shared by ANI in Hindi.
Sukhu also urged people to vacate their houses if cracks develop. He said the government would provide them housing and food in case they have to leave their house because of structure weakening and the government would also provide money to rebuild houses destroyed.
Death toll rises to 16 in Shiv Mandir, Fagli landslides in Shimla
Two more bodies were recovered from the collapsed Shiv Mandir in Summer Hill, Shimla, which took the death toll in the Himachal's capital to 16.
Eleven bodies have been recovered from the temple and five from the second incident at Shimla's Fagli area, reported PTI.
In Fagli, many houses were buried under mud and slush. At both the sites, a total of 10 people are understood to be trapped.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indian Army, police, and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel are engaged in the rescue operations in Shimla which began around 6 am on Tuesday, said Deputy Commissioner of Shimla Aditya Negi to PTI.
IMD issues orange alert for Himachal
For August 15, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast an orange warning with heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours in several parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
In a press release on Tuesday, the IMD predicted isolated very heavy rainfall over Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday and further said that isolated heavy rainfall is likely in the next two days
The Himachal Pradesh police also issued an alert for residents of areas around the banks of river Beas.
"Residents of areas around the banks of river Beas please stay alert as the volume of water has increased considerably and dams have discharged water to reduce water level in reservoirs," the police said.
Earlier on Monday, Himachal was under a red alert and Kangra had received record-breaking 273 mm rainfall within 24 hours.
Amid an orange alert, the IMD said following potential impacts are likely in the state:
❖ Localized flooding of roads, waterlogging in low lying areas and closure of underpasses
❖ Occasional reduction in visibility
❖ Disruption of traffic in major cities
❖ Minor damage to kutcha roads
❖ Possibilities of damage to vulnerable structure
❖ Localised landslides/mudslides in the hilly areas
❖ Damage to horticulture and standing crops in some areas due to inundation
❖ It may lead to riverine flooding in some river catchments
Shimla-Kalka railway line damaged
The UNESCO world heritage Shimla-Kalka railway line was damaged near Summer Hill after a landslide swept away a 50-metre bridge. The soil underneath Kalka-Shimla railway line washed away following heavy rainfall in the area. Visuals show the tracks dangling in the air.
The Shimla-Chandigarh road, which was closed near Chakki Mor in Solan district, opened for light vehicles after almost 12 hours, the officials said.
Over 800 roads closed, electricity supply disrupted
Besides the Shimla-Kalka rail link, over 800 roads are blocked and thousands of transformers have been damaged that have affected electricity supply in Himachal.
As many as 857 roads were blocked for vehicular traffic, 4,285 transformers were damaged, and 889 water supply schemes are disrupted in 11 out of 12 districts in the state, reported PTI, citing information from the state emergency operation centre.
As per latest data, Himachal has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 7,171 crore since the onset of monsoon on June 24 till August 14.
A total of 170 incidents of cloudburst and landslide have been reported in the state this monsoon season and about 9,600 houses damaged, reported PTI.
Deaths elsewhere in Himachal
Besides Shimla and Mandi, deaths have also been reported in Solan and Hamirpur districts.
In Solan, at least 10 deaths have been reported. In a cloudburst in Jadon village, seven members of a family were killed. In Balera panchayat, two children died as their makeshift house collapsed in a landslide and a woman died in a landslide in Banal village of Ramsheher tehsil, reported PTI.
In Hamirpur, four died in rain-related incidents. One person was swept away by the flood waters on Sunday night, reported PTI, adding that another elderly woman was buried alive. In another incident in Rangas area, a woman was killed in a landslide and an 80-year-old man died in a house collapse incident in Bhagatu panchayat , reported PTI.
Independence Day celebrations dampened
The rain-related deaths and destruction have dampened the Independence Day celebrations in Himachal Pradesh.
Earlier on Monday, CM Sukhu announced the cancellation of all cultural programmes and said police and disaster response personnel engaged in Independence Day duties have been pressed into rain-related relief and rescue work.
On Tuesday, Sukhu hoisted the national flag in Shimla instead of Manali where he was scheduled to attend the Independence Day celebrations.
Sukhu said that over 300 have died in the state since the beginning of the monsoon this year and the state is looking forward to liberal assistance from the Union government.
