Himachal cloudbursts: Death toll rises to 9, hunt for about 45 missing continues

About 45 people have been missing since a series of cloudbursts occurred in Kullu's Nirmand, Sainj and Malana; Mandi's Padhar and Shimla's Rampur sub-division on the night of July 31 and wreaked havoc

With the recovery of a body from Rajban village in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi, the death toll due to flash floods triggered by cloudbursts in three districts has increased to nine as the rescuers continue to search for about 45 missing people.

According to officials, 410 rescuers from teams of the Army, NDRF, SDRF, ITBP, CISF, Himachal Pradesh Police and home guards are involved in the hunt with the help of drones.

About 45 people have been missing since a series of cloudbursts occurred in Kullu's Nirmand, Sainj and Malana; Mandi's Padhar and Shimla's Rampur sub-division on the night of July 31 and wreaked havoc.

The body of a 11-year-old girl was found under a big boulder, which was blasted by the rescue teams, the officials said.

"The possibility of rescuing people alive is diminishing with each passing hour but we just hope that the bodies are recovered soon as any delay would lead to decaying of bodies, which would make identification difficult," said a village head.

"A combined rescue operation is underway and efforts are afoot to search for the missing people. We are using various equipment and sensors to detect victims buried or trapped under the debris," said NDRF Commanding Officer Karam Singh whose team along with others is engaged in searching for the missing people in Samej village on the border of Shimla and Kullu district.

In Rampur sub-division's Samej village, over 30 people are reported missing.

Former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday visited Sainj area in Kullu district and interacted with the affected families.

He said that some of the victims are still awaiting the relief fund and asked the administration to provide help at the earliest.

On Friday, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who visited Samej village, announced an immediate relief of ₹50,000 for the victims and said they would be given ₹5,000 monthly for rent for the next three months along with gas cylinder, food and other essential items.

He also said that 115 houses, 23 cowsheds, 10 shops and three fish farms have perished in this disaster besides motorable, footbridges and vehicles in cloudburst since Wednesday night.

The State has suffered a loss of Rs 662 crore since the onset of monsoon on June 27 till August 3. Seventy-nine people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents, as per the State Emergency Operation Centre.

Closure of several roads

Flash floods and landslides due to cloudbursts and heavy rains have led to the closure of 114 roads in the State, while the weather department on Saturday warned that heavy showers would continue in the State till August 7.

Of the roads closed for vehicular traffic, 36 are in Mandi, 34 in Kullu, 27 in Shimla, eight in Lahaul and Spiti, seven in Kangra, and two in Kinnaur district.

The Himachal Road Transport Corporation has suspended its bus services on 82 routes, an official said.

Moderate to heavy showers continued to lash parts of the State, with Jogindernagar receiving the highest rainfall of 85 mm since Friday evening, followed by Gohar 80 mm, Shilaroo 76.4 mm, Poanta Sahib 67.2 mm, Palampur 57.2 mm, Dharamshala 56.2 mm and Chopal 52 mm.

The local weather office has issued a “yellow” alert for heavy rains till August 7.

Rain-related incidents have claimed 77 lives between June 27 and August 1 and caused losses amounting to ₹655 crore, officials said.

Flash floods triggered by a series of cloudbursts in Kullu’s Nirmand, Sainj and Malana; Mandi’s Padhar and Shimla’s Rampur sub-division on the night of July 31 killed at least eight people.