Heavy rains snatched 171 lives in Himachal Pradesh from April 1 to July 16, as per the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The number of human fatalities is second only to Andhra Pradesh, where 258 people lost their lives in the same period.
As per the information provided by the Himachal Pradesh government to the Centre, besides the loss of 171 lives, 23,818 cattle were lost- the highest in the country. The rains in the state have damaged a total of 1,528 houses.
Overall, 51,699 cattle were lost in the rains across the country, and HP’s share was 46.1 percent.
The data was shared in reply to a question from MPs, Sudheer Gupta, Manish Jaiswal, Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane and Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao, in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
It was informed in the House that an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) has been constituted for Himachal Pradesh, without waiting for the memorandum, to visit the affected areas of the state for an assessment of the damages caused by the flash floods, floods, cloudbursts, and landslides.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai submitted in the Lok Sabha that, as reported by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Southwest Monsoon was set in over Kerala on May 24, eight days in advance compared to its expected date of onset (June 1).
“This is the earliest onset in 17 years after 2009, when it was on May 23. It was followed by a rapid advance till May 29, when it covered South India and Northeast India. Over Mumbai, it advanced on May 26 against the normal date of advancement, June 11. It is the earliest monsoon advancement over Mumbai during the last 75 years. Southwest Monsoon covered the entire country on June 29, nine days ahead of its normal day, July 8,” he added.
Rai elaborated, “The major rainfall activities were mainly observed during the 2nd half of June and July 1-15, 2025. Due to highly favourable synoptic systems and monsoonal winds, central and western parts of India, including Gujarat and Rajasthan, have regularly experienced heavy rainfall spells, leading to excess to large excess rainfall over these areas, due to which early flood incidents have also been reported.”
After Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh witnessed a loss of 148 lives, followed by 101 deaths in Bihar, and 89 casualties in Karnataka. A total of 1,297 lives were lost in the country. Neighbouring Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a loss of 33 lives, and 24 died in Punjab.
A total of 92,663 houses were damaged in these rains across the country, with the highest in Assam at 39,810.
Additionally, crops over 1.54 lakh hectares were damaged across the country, with the highest damage in Maharashtra at 91,429 hectares, followed by 29,714.89 hectares in Assam and 18,097 hectares in Karnataka. Punjab also suffered damage to crops over 3,569.11 hectares.
Rai stated that the financial assistance under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF)/National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) in the wake of natural disasters was provided as relief, rather than compensation for losses suffered or claimed.
“As per the National Policy on Disaster Management (NPDM), the primary responsibility for disaster management, including disbursal of relief assistance on the ground level, rests with the state governments concerned. However, financial assistance to notified calamities, including landslides and floods, is provided by the SDRF/NDRF as per established procedures. The state government concerned is required to undertake necessary relief measures in the landslide-affected areas out of the SDRF, already placed with the State Government, as per Government of India norms,” he added.