1 killed, 3 injured in cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu

One person lost his life in a cloudburst at Kias village in Kullu, DSP headquarters Rajesh Thakur said, adding that three people were injured and nine vehicles were damaged in the rain-related incident on Monday.

“One person was killed, 3 injured and 9 vehicles damaged in a cloudburst at Kias village in Kullu, Thakur told news agency ANI.

Rains in Himachal Pradesh have wreaked havoc in the hill state, causing cloudbursts, landslides and floods that have so far killed 108 people, according to government data released last week.

Among all the affected states in North India, Himachal Pradesh has been the worst hit, followed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah approving the advance release of the second installment of the central portion of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) of Rs 180.40 crore.

A total of 11 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed for rescue operations in Himachal Pradesh along with rescue boats and other necessary equipment.

Also, 1 PARA SF and a column of 205 Army Aviation Squadron have been deployed to Paonta Sahib for civilian evacuation. “Two MI-17V5 helicopters have been deployed for an evacuation operation.”

Heavy rains will continue in Himachal Pradesh for the next few days, with the IMD issuing a red alert for several regions on Sunday.

“Orange Alert: Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall (115.6 to 204.4 mm) between July 16 and July 17,” the Met department tweeted on Sunday afternoon.

“As of July 17, there is a moderate to high risk of flash food in and around some water bodies in Chamba, Kangra, Sirmaur, Shimla and Kullu districts,” imd Shimla added.

Heavy rains in north India have led to several landslides that have blocked roads and trapped many. Ndrf teams and other disaster management personnel have rescued thousands of people over the past few days as floodwaters have entered low-lying areas.

By Priyanka Bhowmick