he Himachal Pradesh government, led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, declared the entire state to be a “natural calamity affected area” as the rains caused havoc and claimed the lives of over 70 people in the past few days.
The declaration followed the devastation brought on by nonstop rain, which led to flash floods, cloudbursts, landslides, and slope failure, costing many lives and significant amounts of property.
The government in a statement said, “Himachal Pradesh has witnessed unprecedented loss of human lives and huge destruction, damage and loss to public and private property during the ongoing monsoon season. The entire State has been badly ravaged by incessant rains leading to floods, cloudbursts, landslides, and slope failure taking a heavy toll on lives and property.”
They claimed that the State has faced a number of difficulties as a result of the unusually high amount of precipitation.
“Thousands of dwelling units have been damaged or destroyed. There has been unprecedented loss of crops and agricultural land. Thousands of tourists and local people who were stranded had to be evacuated with the help of the Indian Air Force, Army, NDRF, and SDRF, Police. Home Guards, Fire Services and local volunteers. The national highways. state, district and local road network has been severely damaged and destroyed. Dozens of bridges have been washed away or damaged severely hampering connectivity and rescue efforts. The unprecedented excessive precipitation has led to a series of challenges that impacted the daily life in the State,” the statement said.
The statement added, “The District Administration supported by the Govt. has been carrying out relief and rescue activities, ever since the onset of Monsoon, working day and night to save lives, provide relief to the affected persons, and restore essential services to minimize the impact the disaster.”
In the meantime, Himachal Pradesh has witnessed 113 landslides during this year’s monsoon season, causing 1,762 entirely damaged homes and 8,952 partially damaged homes, according to data released by the state emergency management.
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