Cloudburst triggers flash flood in Himachal’s Mandi town, claims three lives

Three persons were killed and one went missing after flash floods, triggered by a cloudburst in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, wreaked havoc in Himachal’s Mandi town.

Several vehicles and houses were submerged as debris from the Sukati nallah inundated parts of the town. The worst-affected areas were Jail Road, the Zonal Hospital area, and Saini Mohalla.

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Meanwhile, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed grief over the loss of three lives. He said that district officials rushed to the site and supervised the relief and rescue operations.

“The district administration has been directed to provide all possible assistance to the affected families, and I wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” said Sukhu.

He assured the affected families that the state government stands in solidarity with them in this hour of distress and will make every possible effort to provide timely relief.

The Chief Minister prayed to the Almighty to grant eternal peace to the departed souls and strength to the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss.

Since the onset of the monsoon on June 20 until July 29, a total of 170 lives have been lost to various disasters in the state, including 94 rain-related fatalities and 76 deaths due to road accidents.

A total of 278 persons have been injured, while 36 remain missing. So far, the state has witnessed 34 landslides, 26 cloudbursts, and 43 flash floods. The estimated losses have been pegged at Rs 1,538 crore.