Seven dead after cloudburst in Himachal’s Solan; vehicles buried under debris in Uttarakhand: Rain updates
At least seven people were killed in a cloudburst at Jadon village of Kandaghat sub division in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan on Monday morning. Two houses and a cowshed had been washed away in the incident.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday issued red alerts for several Uttarakhand districts and predicted heavy rainfall in parts of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
The IMD Uttarakhand said in a statement on Sunday, “Very heavy to extremely heavy rain/ thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and very intense to extremely intense spell is very likely to occur at isolated places in Dehradun, Pauri, Tehri, Nainital, Champawat and Udham Singh Nagar in next 24 hours.”
Top updates on rain in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand:
The IMD Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, stated that parts of Bilaspur, Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur, Solan, Una, Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti were likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall.
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu tweeted on Monday, “Devastated to hear about the loss of 7 precious lives in the tragic cloud burst incident at Village Jadon, Dhawla Sub-Tehsil in Solan District.
My heartfelt condolences go out to the grieving families. We share in your pain and sorrow during this difficult time. We have directed the authorities to ensure all possible assistance and support to the affected families during this trying period.”
A red alert has been issued for six districts in Uttarakhand. Heavy rainfall led to waterlogging issues in several parts of Uttarakhand including Rishikesh.
As per an official, the toll of rain-related deaths has increased to 52 while another 37 people have been injured in Uttarakhand. Rainfall has also led to landslides and flash floods in several places.
In Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, several vehicles have been buried under debris, which is coming from a hill in Mayapur on the Badrinath highway. DM Chamoli Himanshu Khurana told news agency ANI, “Vehicles have been buried under the debris but no casualties have been reported so far.”