Rains batter Himachal: 214 die since June, 71 of them in 3 days; 10,714 houses damaged

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh is witnessing one of its biggest catastrophes ever.

The death toll in rain-battered Himachal Pradesh rose to 71 on Wednesday. This is said to be the most devastating natural calamity in the state in the last 50 years.

Since June 25, 214 people have died in rain-related incidents in the state since June 24, while 38 are still missing. So far, 10,714 houses damaged/destroyed. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu termed rebuilding the damaged infrastructure a "mountain-like challenge".

According to the Principal Secretary (Revenue) Onkar Chand Sharma, At least 71 people have died in the past three days, and 13 are still missing. A total of 57 bodies have been recovered since Sunday night,"

Heavy rains have lashed the hill state since Sunday, triggering landslides in several districts, including Shimla, where three areas -- Summer Hill, Fagli, and Krishna Nagar -- are badly hit by landslides.

Videos shared on social media show the worst situations in Himachal.

Takes 1 year to rebuild

According to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the state will take a year to rebuild the infrastructure wrecked by the heavy rains this monsoon and claimed that the estimated loss in the two devastating spells of heavy rains - this week and in July - is about Rs 10,000 crore.

"It takes time to rebuild roads and water projects. But the government is speeding up the process. We have to get the infrastructure fully restored within a year. I am working with this in mind.", said the CM.

Recovering bodies

So far, 13 bodies have been recovered from Summer Hill, five from Fagli, and two from Krishna Nagar. Some bodies are still feared buried in the debris of the Shiva temple at Summer Hill that collapsed on Monday. About 15 houses in Krishna Nagar have been vacated, and the families shifted to safer places. Several others have vacated their homes themselves, fearing slides due to incessant rains.

School closed

The Education Department ordered the closure of all educational institutions in the state, and the Himachal Pradesh University has suspended teaching activities till August 19.

Declare national calamity

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri has urged the Centre to declare national calamity in Himachal Pradesh and release Rs 2,000 crore for restoration works.

Rescue operations

At least 1,731 people have been rescued from flood-affected areas of the Indora and Fatehpur sub-divisions of the Kangra district in the last 24 hours.

Specifically, 1,344 people were rescued from Indora and 387 from Fatehpur.

The operation to evacuate people from flood-affected areas is going on with the assistance of Air Force helicopters, Army personnel, the Indian Air Force, the National Disaster Response Force, and the State Disaster Response Force are engaged in the evacuation of people from the flood-affected areas.

Chief Minister Sukhu conducted an aerial survey of Indora and Fatehpur and took stock of evacuation operations in the areas flooded downstream of Pong reservoir.

742 mm of rainfall in 54 days

According to the Shimla Meteorological Centre, Himachal Pradesh has already received 742 mm of rainfall in 54 days of monsoon this year against a season's average of 730 mm recorded between June 1 and September 30.

The rainfall recorded in the state this July broke all records for the month in the last 50 years.

Shimla IMD Rainfall during the past 5 months (Avg rainfall)

April = 183mm (58mm)

May = 177mm (82mm)

June = 328mm (192mm)

July = 475mm (328mm)

August = 363mm

RF since Jan 1 2023 = 1722mm

Annual Avg = 1487mm

Army officials have rescued over 5,000 people with the deployment of eight columns in Himachal Pradesh. The Indian Air Force has lent its support by deploying a Chinook helicopter, which executed a single sortie to airlift 18 army personnel and a three-ton mini dozer to the landslide-affected regions near Shimla.

Inputs from PTI