At least one person died and three sustained injuries following a cloudburst at Kyas village in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district in the early hours of Monday.
The cloudburst occurred at about 3.55 a.m., with heavy rain lashing the region during the night. In the incident, one person died on the spot, and three others were injured due to a washed away vehicle, according to the State’s Emergency Operation Centre. A rescue team was on its way at the time of writing this report.
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Since June 24, following the onset of the monsoon in Himachal Pradesh, 117 people have lost their lives and 12 people have been missing in rain-related incidents till July 16. The State has seen as many as 53 landslides and 41 flash floods. Close to 800 roads across the State were blocked following landslides triggered by heavy rainfall. The total monetary loss so far is pegged at ₹4,414.95 crore, according to government data.
Heavy rains lashed several parts of the State last week, and intermittent rains are continuing, leaving several roads, including national highways, damaged by landslides, adversely impacting vehicular movement in Himachal Pradesh. The incessant rains have left the Sutlej, Ravi, and Beas rivers flowing through Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana in spate.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the State government had safely evacuated around 70,000 tourists who had been stranded following heavy rainfall. They included 250 individuals rescued from the snow-bound Chandertal lake area in the tribal region of Lahaul and Spiti.
The Chief Minister said that though a team from the Central government is scheduled to assess the damage on Monday, no financial assistance had been received so far. He said the State government was prioritising the restoration of roads in apple growing areas, and had released ₹50 crore to the Public Works Department for this.
