Himachal Flash Floods Kill Two, Nearly 20 Labourers Feared Swept Away
New Delhi: At least two persons have died and over a dozen are missing after torrential rain and a series of cloudbursts triggered flash floods in Kangra and Kullu districts of Himachal Pradesh.
Around 15-20 labourers who were working at a mini-hydroelectric project near Dharamshala were feared swept away in the floods as water levels surged in the Manuni Khad, as per news agency PTI. They were reportedly stationed right next to the stream. According to officials, two bodies have been recovered so far while a search is underway for the remaining labourers.
BJP MLA Sudhir Sharma, who met people affected in the flood, told PTI, “When the incident occurred, I received calls from locals saying that around 15–20 people were swept away, and the water flow had suddenly surged, leading to the tragedy. Labourers were working at the site when they got swept away. While local residents managed to save themselves, the labourers could not.”
Teams of the state disaster response force (SDRF), local administration, gram panchayat and the revenue department have been engaged in the search and rescue operations.
According to a report by The Indian Express, the cloudbursts occurred in at least four locations – Banjar, Gadsa, Manikaran and Sainj valley in Kullu district.
The Manali-Chandigarh National Highway was also reportedly partially damaged as the Beas River in spate cut into a part of the highway near Manali. However, according to PTI, vehicular traffic is still on.
Videos on social media showed several houses, roads damaged, while cars were swallowed up and washed away in the floods. As per a PTI report, in Banjar, a bridge was washed away in Hornagad, while floodwaters entered a government school, and farmland and a cowshed sustained damage.
Police in Lahaul-Spiti have said that the road from Kaza to Samdoh has also been blocked at several places because of landslides, falling debris and overflowing drains.
In a social media post, Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed condolences for the losses and said that instructions have been given to all district administrations to carry out relief and rescue operations “with utmost seriousness and speed”.
“Due to heavy rainfall, distressing and heart-wrenching reports of loss of life and property are being received from several districts of the state. Instructions have been given to the administrative teams of all districts to carry out relief and rescue operations with utmost seriousness and speed. I am in constant contact with the administrative officers of all districts, and the situation is being continuously monitored,” he said in a post on X.
The Indian meteorological department has issued an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rain in Kullu, Bilaspur, Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmour and Solan districts, as well as in district Una till Thursday evening.
The MeT has further cautioned of ‘low to moderate’ flash flood risk in these districts.
Himachal Pradesh has witnessed a significant rise in floods in recent years, especially in the monsoon season, causing loss of lives, livelihoods, damage to critical infrastructure, and raising concerns about the ecologically fragile Himalayan region. Many activists have warned that unchecked developmental projects are compounding the damage caused by climate change in the already fragile ecosystem.
According to a report by The Hindu, citing official data, there were 51 flash flood incidents in the state between June 27 and August 16, 2024. The state saw 72 flash flood occurrences in 2023, and 75 such incidents in 2022.
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