Rescue operations continue at Summer Hill in Shimla where a temple collapsed on Monday, killing 14 so far. Eight more people are feared buried in the temple debris.
However, the rescue operations will be at the mercy of the weather, which remains unpredictable on Friday morning. There were light showers at some places on Thursday. The Indian Meterological Department (IMD) predicts more showers on Friday. A yellow alert is in place for heavy rain from August 19 to 25. During the last 24 hours, 60 mm of rainfall has been recorded in Mandi, 24 in Nagrota and 23 mm in Dalhousie.
#WATCH | Himachal Pradesh: Search & rescue operation underway at the landslide-affected areas of Shimla.
— ANI (@ANI) August 18, 2023
(Visuals from Summer Hill Area) pic.twitter.com/aOjTfpHjmA
The death toll touched 74 on Thursday, while over 217 people died since the onset of the monsoon on June 24.
Meanwhile, a cloudburst has been reported from Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Friday morning. "The Pranmati River is in spate and the administration had already alerted people in that area. There are no reports of casualities or damage till now," Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana told ANI.
Many areas of Kaluwala in Dehradun was inundated due to heavy rains. The SDRF immediately reached the spot and rescue work is being carried out.
Punjab
Over 300 people were rescued from inundated villages in Punjab's Kapurthala by the Army and the NDRF team on Thursday. Over 22 villages have been affected after Beas river spilled over due to release of excess water from Bhakra Dam.
Some parts of Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and Rupnagar and Kapurthala districts were submerged following the release of excess water from Pong and Bhakra dams this week.
Officials expect the situation would improve by Friday. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann toured the flood affected areas of Hoshiarpur district in a boat to take stock of the situation. He said the government has ordered a survey to take stock of the losses and the entire government machinery is at disposal of people. "The government will compensate the people even if they had lost a hen or a goat due to the floods. There is no need for people to panic as the state government is there to extend all help to those affected," Mann told people.
The flood situation in Rupnagar district remained grim as more water was being released into the Sutlej river from Bhakra Dam.
