Two bodies were recovered from the Manuni Khad in Kangra district while around 15-20 workers stationed at a labour colony near the Indira Priyadarshini Hydroelectric project site were feared swept away following a surge in water level in the Khaniyara Manuni Khad.
The Indian Army, National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force launched extensive rescue operations across Punjab's Gurdaspur district and Himachal Pradesh's Mandi region as severe floods and landslides affected thousands of residents.
According to experts, slopes in Himachal have become highly vulnerable to landslides due to cutting of rocks at the foothills and the lack of proper drainage system, and high intensity rainfall is making the things worse for the state.
Heated arguments were also witnessed when BJP leaders and others accompanying Kangana tried to pacify the residents, and police had to intervene to restore peace.
Above-normal cold wave days are expected in some areas of central India, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during January 2026.
An accurate early warning system that correlates rainfall and the potential for landslides. That is the imperative, say experts as rains create havoc in hills across India and the toll mounts in Kerala's Wayanad slopes where landslides buried entire homesteads and possibly hundreds of people.
IMD weather forecast predicted a moderate to intense spell of rain in these areas for the next three to four hours.
Activists from Himalayan states condemn the arrest of Sonam Wangchuk, demanding his release and supporting the call for statehood and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. They also warn of a larger crisis unfolding across the Himalayan region due to climate change and poor governance.
While two bodies were recovered on Wednesday, the death toll climbed to four on Thursday after the recovery of two more bodies from the Indira Priyadarshini Hydroelectric project site in Kangra district.
The debris from the mountain came crashing and fell on the roadside shops on way to Jwalamukhi temple, about 40 km from in Dharamsala, trapping shopkeepers and devotees, Additional District Commissioner Lakhanpal told PTI.
A row of buildings in Kullu district collapsed Thursday and hundreds of travellers were stranded in relief camps after landslides blocked the road to Mandi in rain-battered Himachal Pradesh.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon from northwest India around September 15. This year's monsoon covered the country earlier than usual, resulting in surplus rainfall and extreme weather events.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal rainfall for most parts of India during the post-monsoon season (October to December), except for some areas in the northwest. The southwest monsoon season ended with the country recording eight per cent above normal rainfall.
Tourism is badly affected. Entire apple orchards have been washed away. 2 million people are threatened with loss of livelihood.
Shimla has witnessed several landslides in the past weeks with the toll in rain-related incidents in the district in the past 10 days rising to 26, which include 17 deaths in Summer Hill landslide, five in Fagli and two in Krishna Nagar.
The labourers, who are said to be of Nepali origin, were engaged in the construction of a hotel.
'What we are witnessing is not a freak incidence or a freak occurrence, but a new climate reality where warming oceans, monsoon variability and local geography are combining to produce extreme events.'
Five people were killed and about 50 missing following several incidents of cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh where rains washed away many houses, bridges and roads, officials said on Thursday.
Since the onset of the monsoon on June 24, 217 persons have died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh.
Strong demand for cultural and spiritual hubs is expected for destinations like Varanasi, Kolkata during Durga Puja, and Pushkar for the camel fair, besides leisure destinations like Goa, Udaipur, Jaipur and Coorg.
'Except that the population was much less.' 'I remember my uncle and family moving away from the base of a hill whenever it rained for more than a couple of days without a dry day in between.' 'Perhaps the older generations knew if it rained for more than a certain time, they must pack up to a camp or to a relative.' 'As some of the interviews of the survivors on the Malayalam television channels show, the elderly people had a premonition a tragedy would happen, and those who acted on those premonitions survived.'
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh visited the spot and said the rescue operation would continue till the last body was recovered.
Ten-month-old Neetika, orphaned in the Mandi flash floods, will be raised by her aunt. The community rallies to support her future.
The IMD said that rainfall over India in August and September would be around 106 percent of the long-period average of 422.8 mm.
"Will we also die, will our house too break, papa," my six-year-old daughter asked as the horror of the devastating rains in Shimla hit home on Independence Day.
Glimpses of the devastation caused by heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday, July 9, 2023.
The 77th Independence Day on Tuesday was a low-key affair in Himachal Pradesh with the traditional cultural programmes missing from official and district-level functions as the state mourns the deaths and destruction caused by incessant rains.
The toll in Monday's temple collapse incident increased to 17 with rescue teams recovering one more body on Sunday.
The labourers are safe, and oxygen, electricity, medicines, food items and water are being constantly supplied to them through pipes, they said.
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'I can sanction projects worth Rs 20 trillion annually as of today.' 'But my system is only capable of executing projects worth Rs 3 trillion to Rs 4 trillion.'
Cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides have caused massive destruction in the area. More than 150 houses, 106 cattle sheds, 31 vehicles, 14 bridges, and several roads have suffered damage in the disaster.
Heavy rains in Uttarakhand caused a surge in streams that damaged buildings and shops while landslides in the hills blocked national highways and a number of rural motor roads on Thursday.
The death toll from cloudburst and flash flood-related incidents in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh has risen to 14, with a search underway for 31 missing individuals. Extensive damage to homes, infrastructure, and livestock has been reported across the district.
Acting Director General of Police of Himachal Pradesh, Satwant Atwal Trivedi, on Tuesday said that 15 Russian tourists were reportedly stranded in Kasol, and Police are trying to establish contact with them.
The state has suffered losses of Rs 4,000 crore and the figure is likely to go up as estimates continue to pour in, he said.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said efforts are on to rescue the 300 stranded people, and they could be airlifted as the weather clears. Power and water supply has been snapped in several areas.
Heavy boulders fell on a tempo traveller carrying 11 people and of them, eight were killed and three were injured, according to the police.
According to the state government, 60,000 tourists have so far been evacuated from the hill state.
As many as 2,000 tourists stranded in Kasol area of Kullu district owing to incessant rainfall have been evacuated safely, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Wednesday.
