Floods, Landslides In Himachal Pradesh After Heavy Rains, Over 20 Dead

Torrential rains wreaked havoc in Himachal Pradesh over the weekend triggering floods and landslides in several parts of the Himalayan state. Over 21, including eight of a family, have reportedly been killed in heavy rains.

The Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Response Force said that 34 incidents of landslides, flashfloods and cloudbursts were reported from several parts of the state between Friday and Saturday. "Mandi, Kangra and Chamba districts are the worst affected districts," the Himachal Pradesh SDRF said in a tweet.

The state is on yellow alert till August 24 as moderate to heavy rainfall is expected over the next few days, according to IMD Deputy Director of State Bui Lal.

Rain havoc in other states

The hill state of Uttrakhand too witnessed heavy rains, triggering landslides and flashfloods, over the weekend. Four people have reportedly been killed in the rain-related incidents.

"Many houses, roads, and bridges are damaged & many people are injured and missing. Our priority is to make sure medical aid reaches the injured persons, search and rescue operations are underway. We working on war-footing to restore road connectivity," Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami told news agency ANI. He said the infrastructure has suffered a lot of damage and the authorities are working to "bring back normalcy."

"I'm personally monitoring the situation along with all district officials and public representatives," Dhami said.

In Odisha, the Subarnarekha and Baitarani river systems are in spate due to heavy rains. The district administration of Odisha's Balasore and Mayurbhanj started evacuating people from low-lying areas on Sunday in view of the inclement weather. Officials were quoted by news agency PTI saying that the flooding of Mahanadi river system has affected nearly 7 lakh people, 5 lakh of the being stranded in over 750 villages. The death toll in Odisha rose to to six after two dead bodies were recovered in Sambalpur district.

The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted widespread light to moderate rainfall with "isolated heavy falls and thunderstorm and lightning" over Himachal Pradesh from August 20 to 24, while a similar prediction has been given for Uttarakhand from August 21 and 24.