landslide-hits-kullu-village-residents-evacuated

A landslide triggered by heavy rains struck a village in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district on Saturday, forcing the evacuation of residents from 11 houses.

 

Officials said around 20 people were safely moved to a transit camp set up at a public works department rest house after the hill behind Duridhar village in Sainj Valley began to slide.

 

“Our first priority was to save lives, which has been successfully done. They have been moved to a transit camp set up at the public works department's rest house. Technical assessment of the area will be done soon,” said Kullu Deputy Commissioner Tarul S Raveesh. He added that a technical team will soon assess the area.

 

Bhagat Ram Azaad, Pradhan of Sainj Panchayat, said stones started tumbling down as a portion of the hill gave way. Acting quickly, the authorities evacuated all families in time.

 

Himachal Pradesh has been witnessing relentless rain over the past few days. On Friday evening alone, 222 roads were shut due to the rains. One national highway was also closed for vehicular traffic. Mandi district was the worst affected, with 144 roads closed, including the Manali–Kotali road (NH-70), following cloudbursts on June 30.

 

According to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), 36 power transformers and 152 water supply schemes have also been hit across the state.
Since the monsoon began on June 20, the state has seen 82 deaths and 34 people reported missing due to rain-related incidents. So far, Himachal has recorded 42 flash floods, 25 cloudbursts, and 30 landslides, resulting in an estimated loss of ₹1,436 crore, the SEOC said.

 

Light to moderate rain continued in many places since Friday evening. Jaton Barrage recorded 33.2 mm rainfall, Palampur 33 mm, Mandi 26.4 mm, Kangra 21.1 mm, and other regions also saw significant showers. Thunderstorms hit Sundernagar, Shimla, and Jubbarhatti.

 

Meanwhile, the local MeT office has issued an orange alert for July 29 (Tuesday), warning of heavy to very heavy rain in isolated areas of Chamba, Kangra, Mandi, and Kullu districts.