Shimla, Aug 14
Three cloudbursts and flash floods, two landslides and one drowning incident were reported in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday, resulting in damage to eight bridges and 12 vehicles and blocking of multiple roads, including a national highway, the State Emergency Operation Centre said here.
The natural calamities were reported in Shimla, Sirmaur, Lahaul-Spiti, Kullu, and Kinnaur districts. Fortunately, no human casualty was reported, though one person is missing, who is suspected to have drowned in the Parvati River in Kullu district.
The incident happened at around 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Triggered by a cloudburst in the higher reaches of the Rishi Dogri Valley, the deluge engulfed the bridge across the Sutlej River and injured one individual.
Braving fast currents, the team reached the location and discovered four civilians stranded on the far bank. Working with precision under challenging conditions, the HADR team illuminated the general area to aid night rescue operations. They also guided the stranded civilians to higher and safer ground and evacuated the injured individual to the Regional Hospital in Reckong Peo, the district headquarters.
The government said all these calamities resulted in the damage of eight bridges, multiple roads blocked, 12 vehicles damaged, six cow sheds and four cottages destroyed. Restoration and damage assessment efforts are ongoing across affected areas, it added.