Heavy rain pummels North India; flash floods, landslides in Himachal, Uttarakhand

Many states in North India suffered on Sunday after landslides and flash floods triggered by heavy rain caused widespread damage and loss of lives. As many as 19 people were killed in rain-related incidents across the region, with Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand being the worst hit. 

The India Metrological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy to extremely heavy rain for Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

According to IMD, an interaction between an active Western Disturbance and the monsoon trough has resulted in incessant rain since Saturday, causing flash floods and severe damage to infrastructure in many states. Heavy downpour is also expected in certain areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh.

HP, Uttarakhand worst hit 

The hilly states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand were battered by heavy rain and flash floods on Sunday. Footages from here showed vehicles being washed away by gushing waters while buildings, roads and residential areas were inundated. 

Solan in Himachal received record rainfall on Sunday, 135 mm of rain which broke a 50-year-old record of 105 mm of rain in a day in 1971. Una too received the highest rainfall after 1993, Shimla Meteorological Office Director Surender Paul told reporters. 

Three separate incidents of landslides were reported from the state where the IMD has issued a red alert for 10 districts.

Three members of a family were killed in a house collapse following a landslide in Shimla district's Kotgarh area, while one death each was reported from Kullu and Chamba districts. In Rajhana village, on the outskirts of Shimla city, a girl was buried as a huge amount of debris swept by rainwater fell on her house. Officials said an elderly woman was reportedly trapped under debris and rescue operations are underway.

Manali-Chandigarh highway washed away due to flooded Beas River following heavy monsoon rains | PTI

Fourteen major landslides and 13 flash floods have been reported in the past 36 hours while over 700 roads have been closed, according to the Himachal Pradesh emergency operation centre. 

There are also reports that over 200 people are stranded in Chandratal in Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul and Spiti. A part of the Chandigarh-Manali highway was washed away by the surging waters of the Beas River. Flash floods swept away shops and vehicles at Nullan in Kullu, Kinnaur and Chamba and Manali. 

As for Uttarakhand, a red alert is in place in many regions which saw heavy rains leading to rivers in spate, including Ganga.

Several roads were blocked due to landslides, affecting pilgrims. A jeep carrying 11 pilgrims from Kedarnath fell into the river Ganga in Tehri Garhwal district. Five were rescued and the bodies of three were recovered. A search operation is on for the other three missing people. The passengers were residents of Delhi, Bihar, and Hyderabad.

Two people died after houses collapsed in Missarwala village of the Kashipur area while a policeman out on duty died after getting hit by a stone in a landslide in Uttarkashi's district's Barkot town.

The IMD has predicted heavy rains on July 11 and 12 in eight of the state's 13 districts - Chamoli, Pauri, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Almora, Champawat, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar.

Two people were killed in Jammu and Kashmir after a landslide hit a passenger bus in Doda district, while in Ladakh's Kargil district, a man was killed after his vehicle got crushed under a boulder that rolled down a hillock along the along Leh-Srinagar national highway.

Punjab and Haryana 

Heavy rains also hit Punjab and Haryana causing massive waterlogging and flooding. Three rivers Markanda, Ghaggar and Tangri are flowing close to the danger mark in Haryana while life was thrown off track in several parts of Gurugram. Deaths were also reported in Gurugram district's Gairatpur Bas village.

Widespread rainfall was also reported in Uttar Pradesh where a 10-year-old girl died on Sunday when a tree branch fell on the tin shed of her house in Kaushambi following rains. In Muzaffarnagar, a woman and her six-year-old daughter were killed after the roof of their house collapsed due to heavy rain. 

In Rajasthan, a few areas received heavy to very heavy rains while moderate to heavy rainfall occurred in many areas. 

(With inputs from PTI)