Roads blocked, vehicles swept away: Cloudburst in Himachal, Uttarakhand; heavy rains trigger floods, landslides

NEW DELHI: Heavy rain, cloudbursts and landslides have battered Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, leaving a trail of destruction. The intense monsoon downpour on Monday night and early Tuesday caused major damage to property, disrupted daily life, stranded tourists, and swept away vehicles.In Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district, heavy overnight rain unleashed severe destruction in Dharampur town. Three people were killed in the Nihri area after debris from a nearby cliff slid onto a house, collapsing it. Two others were rescued from the rubble.“Three people died, while two others were rescued. The rescue teams rushed to the spot, and operations are still underway,” said Superintendent of Police Sakshi Verma.Mandi has been hit by continuous rain since Monday night. Police said the Dharampur bus stand was flooded and many buses and vehicles were swept away in the strong flow of water. Floods in Son and Bharand drains damaged a workshop, pump houses, shops, and over 20 buses.Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri wrote on Facebook, “Dharampur bus stand, over two dozen HRTC buses, shops, pump house and workshop has been damaged.”In Shimla, a landslide buried several vehicles near Himland in the city center, blocking the main circular road and causing problems for school-going children.“It was raining heavily and around 1 am, we heard a deafening sound with trees and debris sliding down and immediately moved our vehicles to escape,” said Gautam and Rahul Shukla, who were sleeping in their vehicle parked nearby when the landslide struck.Himachal Pradesh's neighboring state -- Uttarakhand also faced disaster as a cloudburst hit Dehradun late Monday night. Hotels, shops and commercial structures suffered significant damage.Torrential rain caused the Sahastradhara river to overflow, carrying debris into the main market area and damaging several establishments. Shops and hotels on Sahastradhara Road were particularly hard-hit, with floodwaters and debris wrecking property.Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inspected the worst-hit areas, including Sahastradhara, Raipur and Maldevta, where a 100-meter stretch of road was washed away by floodwaters."There has been a lot of damage to houses and government properties. Livelihood is affected. We are working to get things back on track. Connectivity has been disrupted at several places. The water level of rivers has increased. All our departments are working on a war footing," CM said.The chief minister posted on X that he is personally monitoring the situation: “Some shops have been damaged due to heavy rains in Sahastradhara, Dehradun, late last night. District administration, SDRF, and police have reached the spot and are engaged in relief and rescue operations. I am constantly in touch with the local administration in this regard and am personally monitoring the situation.”Police and SDRF teams rescued five people trapped in the swollen river during the chaos in Dehradun's Sahastradhara. Officials said all five were safely brought to shore after a swift operation.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah spoke with chief minister Dhami on Tuesday to review the situation in Uttarakhand."PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke with me this morning and took all the details. They assured us that all possible help will be provided. We are working to help the people affected in this disaster,” Dhami said.According to a statement from the CMO, “CM Dhami expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, informing them that the administrative machinery is fully active in the affected areas, where rescue and relief operations are being carried out on a war footing.”