12 hours ago
Flash floods in Himachal: Death toll jumps to six in Kangra as hunt on across the state to find the missing
With the discovery of another body on Friday, the death toll from flash floods at Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh rose to six. All the six victims have been recovered from the Priyadarshi Hydroelectric Project at Manuni Khad in Khanyara Dharamshala, Kangra. Three workers of the hydro project are still missing.
Meanwhile, in Kullu, a search operation is underway by the NDRF to find the three missing persons, who were swept away by flash flood triggered by a cloudburst in Sainj valley.
In the last 24 hours, 53 roads were blocked, 135 electricity lines were snapped and 147 water supply lines were disrupted in the state.
A senior officer engaged in the ongoing rescue operation in Kangra said: 'One of the rescued workers, Lovely, who had taken shelter in the forest, informed that there were 13 people in the camp, of which five ran towards the hills, while the remaining were swept by the gushing waters'.
The State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) Himachal Pradesh informed that a total 33 people were dead and 66 were injured with a loss of properties, including private and public, worth Rs 29.16 crore was reported during the southwest and pre-monsoon rain between June 20 and June 27 in the state. The SEOC officials maintained that the dead and injured included victims of road accidents, drownings and other mishaps during the rain. Meanwhile, kin of the victims were given Rs 1.25 crore ex gratia relief so far.
In 2024, a total 70 people died and the state experienced a financial loss of approximately Rs 1,363 crore during the monsoon 2024 between June 27 and October 2 in the state. A total of 54 incidents of cloudburst and flash flood incidents were reported where 65 people got killed out of which 33 are still missing. Besides this, a total of 47 incidents of landslides also occurred wherein five people lost their lives.
During 2024, the monsoon was active during the period from June 27 to October 2 and the state received a total rainfall of 600.9 mm, which is about 18 per cent less than the normal. Approximately Rs 1,363-crore loss was included of state roads, national highways, bridges, government and private properties, loss of cattle, water supply pipelines, electricity lines etc
