At least three people were killed while forty others went missing after a cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh's Thaltukhod of Padhar subdivision in Mandi district on Thursday, an official said. It has been told that the teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed for the search and rescue operation.
Himachal rains: PM Modi, Amit Shah Monitoring Situation
According to PTI, PM Modi has been closely monitoring the situation in Mandi. The prime minister has asked top officials to ensure all possible assistance is provided to the affected.
Taking stock of the situation, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday had a conversation with Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
According to a home ministry official, Shah assured Sukhu that the central government will extend all help, including deployment of teams of the National Disaster Response Force, for rescue and relief operations.
Furthermore, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi condoled the loss of lives in Mandi cloudburst and also spoke with CM Sukhu to take stock of the "difficult situation".
"The news of the death and disappearance of many people due to cloudburst and heavy rainfall in Shimla, Mandi and Kullu is extremely saddening," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.
Himachal rains: Orange alert issued, warnings of landslides
On Wednesday, the regional Met office had issued an 'orange' alert for heavy to very heavy rain, accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning, in isolated places of all Himachal Pradesh districts, barring Kinnaur and Lahaul & Spiti, for Thursday.
Furthermore, a 'yellow' alert was also issued on Wednesday for heavy rain at isolated places from Friday. The wet spell in the state is predicted to last till August 6.
Warnings of landslides and flash floods in vulnerable areas of Kullu, Solan, Sirmaur, Shimla and Kinnaur districts were alos issued in Wednesday
Commenting on the situation, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi told yesterday that 48 roads were closed and about 60 power schemes affected due to the recent spell of rain.
Himachal received heavy rains on Wednesday
In the 24 hours ended at 5 pm, Dharamshala recorded 127.6 mm rainfall, followed by Una at 60.2 mm, Manali at 45 mm, Jogindernagar at 27 mm, Kangra at 21.6 mm, Saloni at 18.2 mm, Palampur at 17.4 mm, Nahan at 16.1 mm and Kasauli at 15 mm, the regional Met centre in Shimla said.
Data recorded till Tuesday showed that rain-related incidents had claimed 65 lives since the onset of monsoon on June 27. The state has also suffered losses to the tune of Rs 433 crore, according to the state's Emergency Operation Centre.
