43 Dead In 2 Weeks Due To Rain Related Incidents In Himachal

Rain-related incidents have claimed 43 lives in Himachal Pradesh with the state suffering a cumulative loss of Rs 352 crore since the arrival of monsoon on June 24, according to the state emergency operation centre.

During the span of two weeks, as many as 79 persons have sustained injuries while four have gone missing.

The total number of deaths under the centre notified disasters like landslides, flash floods and cloudbursts is one. Meanwhile, the number of deaths in state-notified disasters, including road accidents, accidental drowning, fire, snake bite, falling from height, electrocution and others is 42, according to officials.

Of these 17 have died in road accidents, eight after falling from height and seven due to accidental drowning, according to the centre.

A person died and two more were injured on Thursday night when the roof of a gurdwara collapsed in Paonta Sahib of Sirmaur district. The victim was identified as Milandeep Singh from Haridwar, Uttarakhand.

A total of 130 people stuck at a crematorium in Chadatgarh village were evacuated following flooding in a nearby ravine due to widespread rain. The villagers had to leave the burning pyre in the water and climb to nearby roofs to save their lives, the officials said.

Around 168 roads were closed out of which 107 would be restored by tonight, they said.

The Kasauli-Garkhal-Dharampur road in the Solan district was closed for vehicular traffic following a landslide near Datyar on Thursday evening. The affected stretch had eroded last year in August as well, said locals.

Traffic movement on National Highway 5 (Shimla-Chandigarh) was also affected for some time due to the landslide as it is just below the Kasauli road, they said on Friday.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Una Vishwadev Mohan Chauhan reached the spot and helped evacuate the villagers with the help of the fire department, saying that all of them were rescued.

Light to moderate rains hit several parts of the state since Thursday night with Shimla recording a 50 mm downpour, Sarahan 43.5 mm, Mashobra 37 mm, Nahan 36 mm, Una and Kharapathar 31 mm each, Narkanda 26 mm, Solan 22.5 mm Jubbarhatti and Dhaulakuan 20 mm each and Kufri 16 mm, Bharmour 15 mm.

The local meteorological office has issued an orange warning for isolated places in plains, low and mid hills in nine out of 12 districts, barring Kullu, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts, for July 8 and 9.

For July 10, the department has issued a yellow warning and predicted a wet spell in the state till July 13. Light to moderate precipitation associated with thunderstorms and lightning is likely to continue in most parts of the state for the subsequent 4 to 5 days, the MeT office said.

The weather department has also cautioned of flash floods along water bodies in Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Sirmaur and Solan districts and disruption of water, power and communication facilities.

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