22 killed in flashfloods, landslides in HP

SHIMLA: Twenty-two people, including eight members of a family, were killed and six feared dead in incidents of landslide and flash flood triggered by heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh since Friday, officials said.

Ten people were injured, state Disaster Management Department Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said on Saturday.

The maximum damage has been reported from Mandi, Kangra and Chamba districts, he said, adding that so far 36 weather-related incidents have been reported from the state.

As many as 743 roads, including the Manali-Chandigarh national highway at Mandi and the Shimla-Chandigath highway at Shoghi have been blocked for traffic, he added.

In Mandi alone, 13 people died and six went missing in flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall, Deputy Commissioner Arindam Chaudhary said. Those missing are feared dead, he said.

Bodies of eight members of a family were retrieved from the debris of their house after a four-hour-long search operation by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and police at Kashan village in Gohar development block, he added. The house collapsed in a landslide.

The body of a girl was recovered at some distance away from her house after a flash flood in Baghi nullah on the Mandi-Katola-Prashar road, the DC said, adding that five members of her family are feared washed away. Several families left their homes located between Baghi and Old Katola areas after a cloud burst and took shelter at safer places, he added.

Two people were killed and two others injured as boulders hit their car in shimla’s Theog, Disaster Management Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said.

Three people were killed after their house collapsed following a landslide at Banet village in Chowari of Chamba around 4.30 am, Mokhta said.

In Kangra, a “kutcha” house collapsed, killing a nine-year-old child, officials said.

Meanwhile, trains on the Jogindernagar-Pathankot route have been suspended as Chakki Bridge in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district collapsed due to heavy rainfall on Saturday, officials said.

Cloudbursts kill four in Uttarakhand, swollen rivers wash away bridges

A series of cloudbursts hit different parts of Uttarakhand early on Saturday killing four people while 10 went missing as rivers breached their banks and washed away bridges, officials said.

Torrential rains damaged two houses in Gwad village in Tehri district trapping seven people under the debris.

Two bodies have been recovered from under the rubble, Tehri District Magistrate Saurabh Gaharwar said.

In Kothar village, an elderly woman suffocated to death after getting trapped underneath rubble brought in by the rains, he said.

In Binak village of Pauri district, a house collapsed burying 70-year-old Darshani Devi alive. Her body was recovered by villagers, the disaster control room said.

Excessive rains have affected around 13 villages in the Pauri district prompting the administration to close all Anganwadi centres and schools.

A house and a shop were damaged by heavy rains in Bhainswad village of Dehradun district injuring three people while five were missing, the state emergency operation centre here said.

Water also entered the caves of Tapkeshwar, a famous Shiva temple on the banks of the Tons river, which was in spate, officials said.

A cloudburst occurred around 2.15 am in Sarkhet village in the Raipur area, they said, adding a bridge over the Song river near Thano got washed away while the Kempty Falls, a popular tourist spot near Mussoorie, was also flowing dangerously.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the affected areas near Thano.