Himachal Rains Live: Rescue workers search for survivors after a landslide following monsoon rains, in Shimla, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. (PTI Photo)Weather News Highlights (August 19): Delhi residents woke up to light rains early Saturday with the national capital recording 13 mm rainfall till 8:30 am. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast isolated heavy rainfall over Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, northeastern parts of India, Uttarakhand, Telangana for Saturday.
The rain-ravaged hilly state Himachal Pradesh is likely to receive heavy rainfall from August 21 to August 23 and a yellow alert is in place for the state for the days. The state government declared the massive damage caused by heavy rains as a state calamity. The entire hill state has been declared as a “natural calamity-affected area” in view of the damage caused to human life and property due to heavy rains, a government notification said.
The heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh left parts of Punjab inundated and around 20 villages face the threat due to rising water level in the Sutlej. The residents of the villages along the river in Fazilka district are however unwilling to evacuate. The water flow from the Harrike headworks is 2.61 lakh cubic per second (cusecs), while from the Hussainiwala headworks, it is around 2.30 lakh cusecs.
The Parwanoo-Solan stretch was widened from two lanes to four lanes for better connectivity between Shimla and other areas in Himachal Pradesh and was opened for public use in 2021. (NHAI)
Delhi on Saturday received a fresh spell of rainfall bringing some respite from the humid weather in the city and the minimum temperature settled at 25.4 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal, according to the India Meteorological Department.
However, the maximum temperature settled at 35.6 degree Celsius, one notch above the season's average, it said.
Rains caused waterlogging, affecting traffic movement in several parts of Delhi, including Firni Road in Najafgarh, Bahardurgarh Road, Patparganj, Vasant Kunj, Mundka and Badarpur.
The city recorded 13 mm rainfall till 8.30 am, the IMD said.
It has predicted generally cloudy sky with light rain or drizzle on Sunday.
It said the maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to settle around 36 and 25 degrees Celsius, respectively. The humidity oscillated between 96 per cent and 65 per cent.
According to Central Pollution Control Board data, the Air Quality Index (AQI) stood in the 'moderate' category with a reading of 118 at 6 pm.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'. PTI
The death toll in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh over the past week rose to 78 on Saturday with the recovery of one more body from the debris of a collapsed Shiv temple here, officials said.
Out of the 78 deaths since Sunday night, 24 were in the three major landslides in Shimla alone -- 17 at the Shiv temple in Summer Hill, 5 in Fagli, and 2 in Krishnanagar, Superintendent, Shimla, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi told PTI on Saturday.
Joint operations of Army, National and State Disaster Response Force, Police and Home Guards are underway to retrieve the bodies from the landslide rubble and at least three persons are still feared buried under the temple debris, the SP said.
Drones are being used for identification of high risk zones and monitoring of sliding sites in the state capital, he added.
On Friday, the Himachal Pradesh government declared the state as a "Natural Calamity Affected Area" in view of the damage caused by heavy rains leading to loss of human life and extensive damage to property.
Since the onset of the monsoon on June 24, as many as 221 persons have died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh and over 11,600 houses got partially or completely damaged, according to the state emergency operation centre.
About 415 roads are still closed in the rain-battered state and 253 transformers and 107 water supply schemes have been disrupted.
The local MeT office has sounded a yellow warning of heavy to very heavy rains on August 20 and 21 and heavy rains on August 22 and 23. It also cautioned of moderate to high risk of flash floods in Shimla, Sirmaur and Chamba districts. PTI
The Bhakra Beas Management Board has been facing criticism over the flood situation in Punjab. Both the Bhakra and Pong dams are full one month ahead. Could the flood have been avoided with a more regulated release of water? The Indian Express talked to BBMB chairman N L Sharma and secretary Satish Singla about the situation.
READ HERE
The local meteorological station on Friday issued a yellow warning for heavy rains, thunderstorm and lightning at isolated places in 10 districts of Himachal Pradesh on August 21 and 22 even as the monsoon activity remained subdued in the state.
Light to moderate precipitation is likely to continue at a few places in lower and mid hills during the next 48 hours. The rainfall activity is likely to increase in distribution and intensity from August 21 with precipitation in many parts of the state till August 24, the MeT office said in a release.
There is a possibility of spells of heavy rainfall at isolated places in the non-tribal districts from August 21 to 23 while thunderstorm/lightning may occur at few places resulting in disruption of traffic and other essential services.
"Flash Floods along watershed and other channels in district of Kangra, Chamba, Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Sirmaur, Solan, and tribal districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul Spiti besides localised flooding of roads, landslides in vulnerable areas, occasional reduction in visibility due to heavy rainfall and fog and disruptions of essential services like water, electricity and communications is also possible," the release issued here said.
Meanwhile, scattered rains occurred at a few places and Nagrota Surian was wettest in the state with 50 mm rains, followed by Kasauli (40 mm), Kahu (20 mm), Solan (11 mm), Guler, Ghamroor, Palampur, Sujanpur, Bilaspur Sadar and Renuka (10 mm each).
The day temperatures rose by a few notches and Una was hottest during the day with a high of 36.8 degrees Celsius, 4.2 degrees Celsius above the normal, followed by Bilaspur (35.2 degrees C), Dhaulakuan (34.1 degrees C) and Chamba (33.9 degrees C). PTI
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday announced a financial assistance of Rs 15 crore to Himachal Pradesh where heavy rains and landslides have wreaked havoc.
“An assistance of Rs 15 crore will be given by the Rajasthan government to help the people suffering from the difficult situation created by heavy rains and landslides in Himachal Pradesh,” Gehlot said in a post on X, formerly called Twitter.
Gehlot said the people of Rajasthan are standing with the people of Himachal Pradesh in these difficult circumstances.
This comes after Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced a financial assistance of Rs 11 crore to the flood-hit state earlier in the day.
A Himachal Pradesh tourism and hoteliers association on Friday said disruptions caused by rains is a temporary phase, welcoming tourists to the state.
Road connectivity between Shimla and Chandigarh has been restored and added that tourism in the state would soon recover, the Shimla Hotel and Tourism Stakeholders Association told reporters at a press conference.
President of the association M K Seth called for an increase in air connectivity to tourists places in the state to increase tourist inflow.
"Lack of proper drainage system has resulted in damage to roads and even landslides. We have urged the state government to ensure proper drainage system, felling of dangerous trees posing risk and strengthening of weak retaining walls," he said.
There has been near-zero business in the capital city in the last 45 days and hoteliers are giving heavy discounts to tourists planning a trip to Shimla, said Prince Kukreja, vice president of the association. PTI
CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expresses gratitude to Chattisgarh CM Bhupesh Bhagel for the financial aid of Rs 11 crore.
The Revenue Department (Disaster Management) issued a notification stating that after the weather becomes normal, complete damage assessment will be conducted.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, replying to Chattisgarh CM Bhagel's tweet announcing Rs 11 crore aid, said the Congress party and all citizens are standing with the people of Himachal Pradesh.
Chattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Bhagel Friday took to Twitter to announce financial aid of Rs 11 crore to Himachal Pradesh currently ravaged by floods and landslides. He also said that Chattisgarh stands with the state.
Rescue work at the Shiv Bawari shrine in Shimla has entered the fourth day yet Jagdish Thakur has barely visited his house in Andri village near Summer Hill. Thakur has been ensuring food, tea and water supply for the hundreds of rescue team workers at the site of the temple that was washed away on Monday in a landslide following heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh.
Read how locals have contributed to the resuce operations.
With the recovery of one more body from the rubble of a Shiv temple in Summer Hill, the death toll in the rain-battered Himachal Pradesh has risen to 75, and 22 of these deaths were in the three major landslides in Shimla alone –at the Shiva temple in Summer Hill and in Fagli and Krishnanagar, SP, Shimla, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi said, news agency PTI reported.
About six persons are still feared buried in the temple debris.(PTI)
The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to declare the massive damage caused by heavy rains as a state calamity, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Friday.
He said a notification in this regard would be issued Friday. The state is also waiting a response from the Centre to declare the disaster in Himachal Pradesh as a national calamity.
Heavy rains have lashed the hill state since Sunday, triggering landslides in several districts, including Shimla. Talking to PTI, the chief minister said rescue operations are going on in full swing and the state government is making efforts to help the affected families especially those whose houses have been damaged in the flash floods and landslides with its own resources. (PTI)
Heavy rains disrupted normal life in the Kaluwala area of Dehradun in the early hours of Friday. The rainwater entered the houses and caused waterlogging on the streets, officials said.
According to State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), information was received from the Disaster Control Room that incessant rainfall created major waterlogging in the streets and that rainwater has also entered people's homes in Dehradun's Kaluwala area, disrupting daily life. (ANI)
After heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand, the water level in the Pindar river in Tharali area of Chamoli district has also surged, a senior official said on Friday.
"There was heavy rain in the area late at night yesterday, after which the water level of the Pranmati river started flowing above the danger mark. Due to this the Pindar river also came in spate," Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana said.
The DM further stated that the surge in the water level of the rivers created an atmosphere of panic among the local people of the area and that several houses and agricultural lands in the area were damaged. (ANI)
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday announced to provide a financial assistance of Rs 11 crore to Himachal Pradesh, where heavy rains and landslides have wreaked havoc, a government official here said.
Baghel on Thursday spoke to his Himachal Pradesh counterpart Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu over phone and took stock of the situation in the northern state and assured to extend support to deal with it, he said.
In a statement issued on Friday, Baghel said a severe natural calamity has hit the 'Devbhoomi' (land of gods) Himachal Pradesh and in such a situation, people of Chhattisgarh are standing with the people of the northern state. (PTI)
As heavy rain and landslides continue to ravage hill states in the country, a 2019 strategy document published by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) shows that concerns related to poor urban planning, lack of comprehensive land use policy, lax enforcement of construction laws and excessive tourism in these regions had been flagged then too.
The document pointed out how building plans of hill states were copied from the Delhi Master Plan. Read more
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu Friday said that the state government is doing everything possible to prevent any further loss of lives in the rain-ravaged state. "We are working on restoration of roads..." he added.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams continue search and rescue operations on Friday at the landslide-affected Summer Hill area of Shimla..
Earlier, NDRF on Thursday said that a total of 13 bodies, among 21 people who went missing after a massive landslide, have been recovered. (ANI)