Himachal floods: Six dead; 124 roads damaged, 200 tourists stranded

Himachal Pradesh: Heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh have left six people dead and around 10 injured, triggering landslides and flash floods at several places in the state, according to official estimates. Himachal Pradesh Principal Secretary Disaster Management Onkar Chand Sharma said today, “So far six people have died and around 10 people are injured. A total of 303 animals have died. The full report is still awaited.”

A senior disaster management official said, “Due to the rains, a loss of Rs 3 crore is expected. Meanwhile, 124 roads have been damaged, including two national highways.” Long queues of vehicles were seen on the Chandigarh-Manali highway at mile 7 in Mandi. Aerial visuals showed that the vehicles were slowing down or stalled for a long time.

Due to inclement weather conditions with incessant rain on Sunday, the Mandi police blocked the Mandi-Kullu National Highway (NH). The alternate route of the Mandi-Jogindernagar highway was also closed by the local police on Sunday. Mandi SHO Sakini Kapoor said, “We are trying our best to open the road within three hours. People who are facing difficulties are being sent by other buses.” Over 200 people, including tourists and locals, were stranded in a flash flood in Bagipul area of ​​the state’s Mandi district, police said on Sunday.

#Watch , Heavy rains triggered a landslide on the Chandigarh-Manali highway near Mile 7 in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district; causes huge traffic jams

(Drone view from Mandi) pic.twitter.com/tmpPZ8aUbM— ANI (@ANI) 26 June 2023

Mandi District Police Padhar Deputy Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Sood told ANI that people in the area are being shifted to safer places. Onkar Chand Sharma, the administration held a meeting with the line departments and duty commissioners on June 21 to discuss the preparations for the monsoon.

Officials from the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Central Water Commission (CWC) and Civil Defense as well as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) were present in the meeting. Onkar Chand Sharma said, “The state has been receiving monsoon rains for the last 3 days. We are getting updates of heavy rains, flash floods and landslides from different parts of the state.”

“A total of 151 DTR services have been disrupted. Six water supply schemes have also been affected. We have reports of one fire incident so far,” the official said. Sharma said rescue operations are being carried out for those trapped in adverse disaster conditions and urged people to follow the protocols and warnings issued by the state.

“Several tourists have been rescued with the help of local people. We request all tourists coming here to follow all the guidelines issued by the state government and disaster management,” he said. Principal Secretary Disaster Management said that there is traffic jam in Mandi-Pandoh area since Sunday and a large number of vehicles are stranded.

“Mandi-Pandoh NH is currently affected by road blockade situation. We have tried to divert some traffic to other roads. However, due to small capacity of the road, traffic is again getting jammed. SDRF and police officials at the spot exist,” he said. There was a flash flood in the Mandi-Parashar area where the stranded people were rescued, the official said. Onkar Chand Sharma said, NDRF, SDRF and Civil Defense officials are pre-deployed in many areas and wherever we get alerts, they are ready to carry out rescue operations and other relief measures.

The official said that the alert issued in the state will continue for the next 24 hours. “We should be prepared for these events throughout the monsoon season, this is just the beginning. People have been alerted through IMD and district administration. We also encourage people to download the Alert app through which They will be informed about local and national disaster alerts,” the official said.

He said restoration work would continue and officials would be alert for any new damage or reports of disaster. “The restoration work is going on continuously. As soon as the rains subside, 124 roads will be restored. However, as the heavy rains will continue, we are also on alert for more damage to roads and water supply, so that we Let us start restoring them. Immediately,” he added.