2 dead, 20 feared swept away in Kangra as cloudbursts, flash floods and heavy rain batter Himachal Pradesh

Shimla/Dharamshala: Two persons died while about 20 were feared swept away as cloudburst, flash floods and heavy rain wreaked havoc in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday.

Two bodies were recovered from the Manuni Khad in Kangra district while around 15-20 workers stationed at a labour colony near the Indira Priyadarshini Hydroelectric project site were feared swept away following a surge in water level in the Khaniyara Manuni Khad.

According to officials, the project work had been suspended due to rain, and the workers were resting in the temporary shelters near the site when floodwaters from Manuni Khad and nearby drains diverted towards the labour colony, sweeping the workers away.

Teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), local administration, gram panchayat, and the revenue department have reached the spot to carry out search and rescue operations.

Some local workers associated with the project have been reported safe, the officials said.

In a post on social media, Dharamsala's BJP MLA Sudhir Sharma said that about 20 workers were swept away in the incident.

More details are awaited as rescue operations continue amid challenging weather conditions Meanwhile, three people went missing as cloudbursts led to flash floods in several parts of Kullu district, damaging many houses, a school building, shops, connecting roads and small bridges, officials said.

Three cloudbursts incidents were reported from Jeeva Nallah and Rehla Bihal in Sainj and Shilagarh in Gadsa area of Kullu district.

Three people in Rehla Bihal trying to take away their valuables from their homes were washed away in the deluge and are missing, the officials said.

Flash floods were also reported from Manali and Banjar in the district, and search operations were underway, Kullu ADC Ashwani Kumar said.

The Manali-Chandigarh National Highway was partially damaged near Manali as the Beas River in spate cut into a part of the highway. However, vehicular traffic is still on.

Videos of heavy floods at several places in Kullu show the extent of the damage. In one, a vehicle can be seen floating in muddy waters.

In Banjar subdivision, a bridge was washed away due to floods in the Hornagad area while water entered the premises of a government school, besides damaging an agriculture land and a cowshed.

"Heavy rains are continuing since the morning. I received several calls saying rains have caused huge damage in Sainj, Tirthan and Gadsa. I would appeal to the people to stay away from the rivers and drains. I have asked the administration to take quick action as people are in trouble," Banjar MLA Surinder Shauri said.

Water levels in the Beas and Sutlej rivers have also risen.

Police in Lahaul-Spiti said the road from Kaza to Samdoh has been blocked at several places because of landslides, falling debris and overflowing drains.

Heavy to very heavy rain lashed parts of the state, with Palampur recording 145.5 mm of rain since Tuesday evening, followed by Jogindernagar (113 mm), Nahan (99.8 mm), Baijnath (85 mm), Poanta Sahib (58.4 mm), Gohar (55 mm), Dharamsala (54.1 mm), Jatton Barrage (49.2 mm), Kangra (44.4 mm), Narkanda (41 mm), Jot (30 mm), Raipur Maidan (29.2 mm), Amb (25.6 mm), and Kasauli (22 mm).

Meanwhile, thunderstorms lashed Sundernagar and Kangra while gusty winds measuring up to 56 kmph were experienced in Tabo.

Kukumseri in Lahaul-Spiti was the coldest in the state on Wednesday at 13.1 degrees Celsius, while Una was the hottest at 33.6 degree Celsius, the local MeT office said.

The MeT office has cautioned of low to moderate flashflood risk in parts of five districts -- Chamba, Kangra, Mandi, Shimla and Sirmaur -- till Thursday evening.

It also issued an orange warning of heavy rain at isolated places in four to seven districts over the next four days till June 29.