Himachal weather: Another 3-day heavy-rain alert from July 4; Mandi cloudbursts toll rises to 11, 34 missing

The death toll from cloudbursts and flash flood-related incidents in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh has risen to 11 with the recovery of six additional bodies.

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The search for 34 missing people is under way, officials said on Wednesday.

The state witnessed 11 cloudburst incidents, four flash floods and a major landslide on Tuesday, most of which occurred in Mandi district, disrupting normal life.

Cloudbursts were reported at four locations in Gohar, three in Karsog, two in Dharampur, and one in Thunag, Mandi.

CM Sukhu visits disaster-hit Syathi village

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who visited the disaster-hit Syathi village of Laungani Panchayat in Dharampur, announced a special relief package to assist in rebuilding damaged homes. Additionally, enhanced compensation will be provided for lost livestock and destroyed cow shelters.

Two bodies were recovered in Siyanj, Gohar, and one each in Thunag, Dhar Jarol, and Pandeev Sheel areas, while one body was recovered from Neri-Kotla in Jogindernagar, officials said. The identities of the deceased have not yet been disclosed.

Meanwhile, the weather department has warned of low to moderate flash-flood risk in parts of five districts of Chamba, Kangra Kullu, Mandi and Shimla in the next 24 hours.

282 roads closed, 639 water schemes disrupted

A total of 282 roads were closed in the state following heavy rains and 1361 transformers and 639 water schemes were disrupted.

These include 182 roads in Mandi district, 37 in Kullu, 33 in Shimla, 12 in Sirmour, six in Chamba, five in Hamirpur, three each in Kangra and Una districts and one road in Solan district.

Also, as many as 1,361 distribution transformer including 633 in Mandi district alone and 639 water supply schemes remain disrupted throughout the state.

Most of the damage was caused in Mandi where 182 roads were blocked for vehicular movement and 633 transformers and 465 water schemes were affected as of Wednesday morning, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).

Additionally, 24 houses, 12 cattle sheds, one bridge and several roads were damaged, 30 cattle perished in the tragedies while a total of 370 people, including 316 in Mandi, have been rescued and 11 were still stranded, the SEOC added.

Two teams each from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), along with police and home guards, are actively engaged in search and rescue operations in the district.

Meanwhile, light to moderate rainfall continues in several regions of the state. The Met Office has issued an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rains in isolated areas across the state from Friday to Sunday.