Shimla/Dehradun, August 20
At least 25 people were killed in the hilly regions of the north and in the plains of the east as monsoon rains triggered flashfloods, landslides, and house collapses, upending normal life across large swathes of the country.
Himachal Pradesh bore the maximum brunt as at least 16 people were killed and eight went missing after landslides and other rain-related incidents in Mandi, Kangra oand Chamba.
The Chakki bridge in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra collapsed due to heavy rains on Saturday, disrupting train services between Pathankot and Jogindernagar.
In the hill state of Uttarakhand, a series of cloudbursts early Saturday killed four people, while 10 went missing as rivers breached banks, washed away bridges, and threw mud and waters inside houses, forcing evacuation of multiple villages.
As the gushing waters threatened more damage, a number of roads were blocked for traffic, while all Anganwadi centres and schools were ordered shut in the Pauri district of Uttarakhand.
Rains also pounded parts of eastern India, with Odisha—already reeling under floods in the Mahanadi river system with around 4 lakh people marooned in 500 villages – reporting four deaths, and neighbouring Jharkhand one.
Odisha braced for more damage with parts in its north receiving rains since Friday night. Prices of vegetables have shot up in the markets of Bhubaneswar with the supply chain disrupted.
Water levels in Subarnarekha, Budhabalang, Baitarani and Salandi are being monitored as Balasore, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj received heavy rain on the previous night, Odisha Water Resources Chief Engineer B K Mishra said on Saturday.
In the neighbouring Jharkhand, heavy rainfall associated with high-speed winds since Friday evening uprooted scores of trees and electricity poles, and submerged low-lying areas in many districts.
A woman died when a mud wall of her house caved in on her in West Singhbhum district on Saturday morning as the deep depression that crossed the Odisha coast on the previous evening brought incessant rainfall in several areas, an official said.
