Over 60 dead due to incessant rains in Himachal, Uttarakhand

Shimla/Dehradun: Almost 60 people have lost their lives across Himachal and Uttarakhand due to continous rainfall and landslides in the states.

The rescue operation is still underway, to pull out bodies from debris due to house collapses in several places.

According to officials, some residents were feared trapped in the debris, and NDRF, SDRF, and state police personnel were leading the rescue operations.

Meanwhile, heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand this monsoon triggered landslides and flash floods in several places.

Badrinath National Highway has been blocked in several areas of the Chamoli district, as a result of heavy rain in the state.

In a Wednesday morning tweet, the Chief Minister shared that over 800 individuals were successfully evacuated from Kangra’s low-lying areas due to rising water levels in the Pong Dam.

“More than 800 people were evacuated from the low-lying areas of Kangra near the Pong Dam, as their villages became inaccessible due to the elevated water level in the dam reservoir. Evacuation operation is still on as more people are being evacuated,” said Sukhu.

More than 800 people were evacuated from the low-lying areas of Kangra near the Pong Dam, as their villages became inaccessible due to the elevated water level in the dam reservoir.

Evacuation operation is still on as more people are being evacuated. pic.twitter.com/gtESMDhUnu

— Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (@SukhuSukhvinder) August 16, 2023

The weather office has predicted isolated but heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh in the next two days and over Uttarakhand in the next four days.

13 bodies have been found so far in the ShimLa Summer Hill landslide incident. According to BS Rajput, 14 NDRF second in command, “… we have the proof of 21 victims here. Till yesterday (Tuesday) we recovered 12 bodies. Today we got one more body, so 13 bodies have been recovered. We are using specialised equipment other than heavy machinery. We can’t confirm when will the search be over because the bodies in the down area are spread over at least 2 km and we can’t use machines there so rescue has to be done manually.”

Rudraprayag Police on Wednesday tweeted that operation to rescue people stranded at Madmaheshwar Valley began with the help of helicopter. “A temporary and optional helipad set up at Nanu where people are reaching on foot. They are being evacuated to Ransi village from where they are going ahead on foot,” the tweet further read.

मदमहेश्वर घाटी में फंसे लोगों का हैलीकॉप्टर के माध्यम से शुरू हुआ रेस्क्यू

नानू नामक स्थान पर वैकल्पिक व अस्थाई हैलीपैड तैयार किय है। यहाँ तक लोग पैदल पहुंच रहे हैं। इन लोगों को हैलीकॉप्टर द्वारा रांसी गांव तक छोड़ा जा रहा है, जहां से वापसी का सफर सड़क मार्ग से किया जा रहा है। pic.twitter.com/Ctk5H6kpYc

— Rudraprayag Police Uttarakhand (@RudraprayagPol) August 16, 2023

All the schools and colleges in Himachal Pradesh would remain closed on Wednesday due to inclement weather, an order issued by the education department said.