Cloudburst wreaks havoc in Uttarakhand; 3 killed in torrential rains in Himachal

Heavy overnight rains pounded Himachal Pradesh, triggering floods and landslides that left three members of a family dead and submerged a bus stand in Mandi.

In neighbouring Uttarakhand too, two people went missing, homes submerged in Tapovan, shops washed away and severe waterlogging across Sahastradhara and the IT Park area, after a cloudburst that hit Dehradun led to torrential rainfall on late Monday (September 15)

Extreme rainfall has triggered deadly disasters across the Himalayas this monsoon, marking the region’s most rain-soaked August in over two decades. According to an official estimate, natural disasters in Uttarakhand since April this year have so far claimed 85 lives, injured 128 people and left 94 missing.

Himachal

In Himachal, the three were killed when a house collapsed following a landslide in Boi panchayat in Nehri area of Sundernagar subdivision in Mandi district.

Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, Apoorv Devgan told PTI that three bodies have been recovered while two persons have been rescued, Officials said the rains led to floods in Son and Bharand drains in Dharampur in Mandi district, resulting in flooding of a bus stand, damaging a workshop, pump houses, shops and over 20 buses.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri in his Facebook post said, "Dharampur bus stand, over two dozen HRTC buses, shops, pump house and workshop has been damaged".

Vehicles buried

In Shimla, several vehicles were buried following a landslide near Himland in the heart of the city and the main circular road was blocked causing inconvenience to school- going children.

Also read: Cloudburst in Himachal village; several vehicles buried under debris, farms damaged

"It was raining heavily and around 1 am, we heard a deafening sound with trees and debris sliding down and immediately moved our vehicles to escape", Gautam and Rahul Shukla, who were sleeping in their vehicle parked near Himland when the landslide occurred, said.

Uttarakhand

The most recent deluge on Monday night caused the Karligaad rivulet to overflow, leading to extensive destruction in nearby regions. Residents from the most affected zones were swiftly relocated to safer areas.

Relentless rainfall caused local streams to swell to dangerous levels, resulting in the collapse of a key bridge and widespread damage to properties lining the banks. A portion of the road was washed out in Maldevta; the Dehradun-Mussoorie road was among the routes hit, and rising water levels were reported from across the city.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took to X (formerly Twitter) to confirm that several shops in Sahastradhara had been damaged and assuring that he is closely monitoring relief efforts.

“Some shops have been damaged due to heavy rain in Sahastradhara, Dehradun, late last night. District administration, SDRF, and police have reached the spot and are engaged in relief and rescue operations. I am constantly in touch with the local administration in this regard and am personally monitoring the situation," he tweeted in Hindi.

Dhami also assured that he is in touch with the local administration and is personally monitoring the situation.

Rescue teams deployed

Following the Dehradun cloudburst, the river Chandrabhaga in Rishikesh has been in spate since morning.

Three people were trapped in the river as its water flooded the highway. They were rescued by the SDRF team. Earlier, a massive landslide occurred on a road in Pithoragarh district, resulting in massive traffic as the stretch was cut off. The administration is engaged in efforts to open the road at the earliest.

The district magistrate Savin Bansal has also issued an order to close all schools from Class 1 to 12 in Dehradun. District magistrate Savin Bansal told the media that teams from the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, and Public Works Department (PWD) are engaged in the rescue operation. “Some shops were washed away, and two people are missing. Search efforts are underway,” he said, according to reports.

Cloudbursts, landslides

Earlier, in August too, two people went missing after a cloudburst struck Mopata village under Dewal Tehsil of Chamoli district, Uttarakhand.

Also read: Landslides in Himalayan states: SC raises alarm over illegal tree felling

However, India Meteorological Department (IMD) anticipated good, above-normal rainfall this month and warned of episodic cloudbursts, mudslides, and landslides and has asked the authorities to be prepared.

Heavy spells of rain, cloudbursts and landslides have ravaged various parts of Uttarakhand this monsoon, including Dharali-Harsil in Uttarkashi, Tharali in Chamoli, Chenagad in Rudraprayag, Sainji in Pauri, Kapkot in Bageshwar and parts of Nainital district.

The warning came amid large-scale devastation across Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab, where incessant rainfall triggered landslides, flash floods, road cave-ins, and infrastructure collapse last month.

The disasters included the Dharali village flood (Uttarakhand), and cloudbursts and flooding in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

PM Modi in Dehradun

On September 11, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Dehradun to assess the flood situation. PM also chaired a high-level meeting to discuss all aspects related to the disaster. An inter-ministerial team had visited the affected areas of the state recently to assess the extent of damage caused by the natural calamities.

PM Modi also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the victims and Rs 50,000 for those left injured in a series of natural calamities that hit various districts of the hill state this monsoon.

He announced support under the PM CARES for Children scheme to children orphaned due to the recent floods and landslides in the state.

During his visit, PM Modi interacted with NDRF and SDRF personnel, and disaster volunteers who lent a helping hand at ground zero during the disasters and praised their efforts.

(With inputs from agencies)