More landslides, flash floods in Himachal Pradesh; 3 dead

The three were killed when a house collapsed following a landslide in Boi panchayat in Nehri area of Sundernagar subdivision in Mandi district.

Shimla: Heavy overnight rains triggered massive landslides and flash floods in Himachal Pradesh, leaving three members of a family dead and submerging a bus stand and commercial establishments in Mandi district, officials said.

Moderate to heavy rains have lashed several parts of the state since Monday evening. In Shimla, which received 142 mm of rain in 12 hours since Monday evening, several vehicles were buried in a landslide near Himland in the heart of the city.

Many buses and other vehicles were swept away in the floods in Mandi, where one person has been reported missing.

Officials said a house collapsed following a landslide in Bragta village in Mandi district, leaving two women and a child dead.

Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, Apoorv Devgan, told PTI that three bodies have been recovered, while two persons have been rescued. The critically injured persons were rushed to the nearest hospital.

A flash flood struck the Dharampur area in Mandi district late Monday night, causing significant destruction to public infrastructure and private property.

Officials said the rains led to flooding of the Son and Bharand drains in Dharampur in Mandi district, resulting in flooding of a bus stand and damaging a workshop, pump houses, shops and over 20 Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) buses.

One person is reported missing in the flash flood incident and a search is currently underway.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, who also holds the Transport portfolio, said in a Facebook post, "Dharampur bus stand, over two dozen HRTC buses, shops, pump house and workshop has been damaged".

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu mourned the death of three persons and said that the state government stands in solidarity with the bereaved families. He directed the district administration to provide all possible assistance to the next of kin of the deceased.

He also took stock of the situation from the Deputy Commissioners of affected areas and directed them to take necessary and immediate actions to mitigate the impact of the rain.

He said that Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri visited disaster-affected areas of Dharampur in Mandi and informed that damage to the tune of Rs 6 crore has been caused to the HRTC buses.

Four people were reported missing in incidents of floods and landslides in the state on Tuesday.

In Shimla, several vehicles were buried in a landslide near Himland and the main circular road was blocked.

"It was raining heavily and at around 1 AM, we heard a deafening sound with trees and debris sliding down and immediately moved our vehicles to escape," Rahul Shukla, who was sleeping in their vehicle parked near Himland when the landslide occurred, said.

There were reports of rains triggering landslides and uprooting trees in BCS-Vikas Nagar area, PMT colony, Jhanjheri and some other areas of the town. Restoration works are underway, officials said.

A five-storey building in the Panthaghati area was endangered after its foundation slid due to rain.

The state has received an average rainfall of 1010.9 mm during the ongoing monsoon season from June 1 to September 16 against the normal rainfall of 692.1 mm, an excess of 46 per cent.

Shimla received 142 mm of rain since Monday evening, followed by Nagrota Suriyan 135.2, Bhattiyat 80 mm, Sundernagar 60.8 mm, Brahmani 54.4 mm, Guler 54.2 mm, Mandi 52.6 mm, Kangra 50.5 mm and Mehre Barsar 50 mm, the Met said.

Thunderstorms were witnessed in Shimla, Jubbarhatti, Kangra, Bhuntar, Jot, Murari Devi and Sundernagar, while gusty winds with speeds ranging between 31 and 37 Kmph swept Bilaspur, Bajaura and Kufri.

As many as 655 roads including stretches of three National Highways -- NH 3 (Attari-Leh road), NH 305 (Aut-Sainj road) and NH 503A (Amritsar-Bhota road) -- were closed in the state as on Tuesday morning.

About 924 power transformers and 243 water supply schemes have been disrupted, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).

A total of 417 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents since the onset of the monsoon over the state on June 20, while 45 are still missing. A total of 236 people died in rain-related incidents, while 181 were killed in road accidents.

Himachal witnessed 46 cloudburst incidents, 98 flash floods and 145 major landslides, and so far, the state has suffered a loss of Rs 4,582 crore, the officials said.