Landslides, roadblocks, collapsed buildings: How disaster continues to unfold in Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is still being hammered hard by the rain, with landslides, roadblocks, flash floods and building collapse incidents crippling the hill state. On Wednesday, officials announced as a result of the overnight downpour, over 400 roads were blocked and 12 more deaths had been reported. In six of the state’s 12 districts, including Shimla, the meteorological office issued a “red alert” on Wednesday, predicting “heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated spells of extremely heavy rains” for the next 24 hours. Let’s take a closer look. Also read: Tracing the history of Kalka-Shimla railway, damaged by Himachal rain Collapsed buildings, damaged roads At least eight buildings that had developed cracks and were declared unsafe following recent rains collapsed in the Anni area of Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district on Thursday, throwing up large clouds of dust and debris. There were no casualties. Disturbing visuals of the collapse of the buildings have surfaced on social media, showing the buildings crumbling one by one to dust. An aerial video shows the enormous landslide bringing down other buildings with it.

Disturbing visuals emerge from Anni, Kullu, depicting a massive commercial building collapsing amidst a devastating landslide.

It's noteworthy that the administration had identified the risk and successfully evacuated the building two days prior. pic.twitter.com/cGAf0pPtGd

— Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (@SukhuSukhvinder) August 24, 2023

The buildings housing shops, banks and other commercial establishments had developed cracks four to five days ago, Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Anni, Naresh Verma, who was at the spot, said. They were declared unsafe and vacated about a week ago. The assessment of damage is being done and some other unsafe buildings along the National Highway-305 in Anni have also been vacated as a precautionary measure, the official added. Another event involving rain occurred on Thursday when a massive landslide in Kullu’s Anni neighbourhood caused several buildings to collapse. Hundreds of vehicles are stuck in a 10-kilometer traffic jam in Kullu district as a result of rain-related damage to the route leading to Mandi. The landslides also left some houses damaged in the Solan district.

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A parked bus in the Shimla region of the interstate bus terminal was buried by a landslide, and numerous other cars suffered damage in landslides at Navbahar, Himland, and other locations. A total of 709 roads in the state are now shut following three major spells of heavy rains this Monsoon that has left a trail of death and destruction. Since yesterday, hundreds of vehicles have been stuck in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, after rain caused damage to the route that connects the area to Mandi road. The highways connecting the Kullu district to Mandi have been damaged as a result of the recent rainfall, Kullu SP Sakshi Verma stated on Wednesday. PWD is working to clear the road on the other route through Pandoh, which is also damaged. Also read: How Himachal CM’s ‘Bihari architects’ remark has turned into a political storm Many lives lost Out of the 12 deaths, seven occurred due to landslides in Mandi and Shimla. Besides, three people died of electrocution, and one death each was reported due to drowning and falling from height in different parts of the state, according to the state emergency operation centre. Five persons have died in landslides triggered by cloud bursts in two villages of Seraj area of Mandi district, Deputy Commissioner Arindam Chaudhary told PTI. [caption id=“attachment_13035152” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] PTI[/caption] Two persons, Parma Nand (62) and his grandson Gopi (14), were killed in a landslide at Dagol village of Seraj in Mandi district while the other three were killed in a landslide in Sarachi village. Some more people are feared trapped in the debris. A few houses and a school were also damaged in the area. As many as 120 people have died in rain-related incidents in the state this month while a total of 238 people have died and 40 are still missing since the onset of monsoon in Himachal Pradesh on 24 June. Also read: Himachal Pradesh death toll rises: What is behind the hill state’s recent spell of rains? Devotees make beeline for Shakti Peeth Undeterred by natural calamities and inclement weather, devotees made a beeline for Shakti Peeths in Himachal Pradesh with 5.48 lakh people from Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and other states paying obeisance during the six-day Shravan Ashtami Mela from 17 to 22 August. Shimla worst hit districts One of Himachal Pradesh’s hardest affected towns by the catastrophic rains is Shimla, a well-known tourist destination. Landslides, damaged buildings, and uprooted trees blocking the main cart road, the lifeline of the town as well as the Shimla-Mehli bypass at several points brought the city to a standstill. Many houses have also developed cracks and people have been evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Situation in Mall Road Shimla toady

Please pray for Himachal 🙏 pic.twitter.com/FaYGpVtzhi

— Go Himachal (@GoHimachal_) August 23, 2023

A migrant identified as Jhalo and his wife Rajkumari were found dead in their makeshift house in Baldeyan area of Shimla district, Superintendent of Police, Shimla, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi told PTI. According to Shimla Deputy Commissioner Aditya Negi, cracks have reportedly appeared in some of the city’s homes, forcing residents of the Panthaghati and Sanjauli neighbourhoods to evacuate. Shimla has seen a number of residents leave their homes and relocate because they are afraid of the risk. As thunderstorms and lightning continued to strike the city till three in the morning, many Shimla residents struggled to sleep. Due to the possibility of landslides and falling trees, commuters also experienced difficulties as buses were unable to run. “I have walked for nearly six km to reach my office as buses were not plying. We were scared all night as loss of life in recent landslides have triggered fear," News18 quoted Jagat Ram, a resident, as saying. Red alert issued The meteorological office on Wednesday issued a ‘red alert’ predicting “heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated spells of extremely heavy rains” in Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts. The MeT Department also issued an orange warning of heavy to very heavy rains on Thursday.

Visuals from Kataula in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh pic.twitter.com/78H9d7eTrM

— Weatherman Shubham (@shubhamtorres09) August 23, 2023

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Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu appealed to the people to remain vigilant in view of the heavy rain forecast. All schools and colleges have been closed for two days beginning Wednesday in Shimla, Mandi and Solan districts. The MeT has issued a warning about the moderate to high risk of flash floods in the districts of Shimla, Sirmaur, Kangra, Chamba, Mandi, Hamirpur, Solan, Bilaspur, and Kullu. In comparison to the typical rainfall of 558.1 mm, the seasonal rainfall from 24 June 24 to 22 August was 757.6 mm or 36 per cent more. Also read: 257 deaths and losses worth Rs 7,000 crore: How floods and landslides have ravaged Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh rains Himachal saw three major spells of heavy rains this Monsoon. The first on July 9 and 10 led to large-scale destruction in Mandi and Kullu districts.  Shimla and Solan districts were hit during the second spell on August 14 and 15 and Shimla city suffered heavy damage in the third spell on Tuesday night. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, the state had intense rainfall in various areas. Shimla received 201 mm of rain, Bilaspur 181 mm, Mandi and Berthin 160 mm each, Nahan and Solan 122 mm each, Sundernagar 113 mm, and Palampur 91 mm. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday said that Rs 165.22 crore had been released to all the deputy commissioners and the line departments in the state for the restoration of damaged works. He has claimed that the state has suffered losses of Rs 10,000 crore so far due to the heavy rains. The reason behind incessant rainfall The government data shows that there are 17,120 landslide-prone sites in Himachal, reported PTI, adding that 675 of these are near critical infrastructure and habitations. The maximum of such prioritised landslide-prone sites are in Chamba (133) followed by Mandi (110), Kangra (102), Lahaul and Spiti (91), Una (63), Kullu (55), Shimla (50), Solan (44), Bilaspur (37), Sirmaur (21) and Kinnaur (15). Moreover, experts believe that there are several human-made reasons behind landslides in Himachal, such as unscientific constructions in the ecologically fragile Himalayas, depleting forest cover, and structures near streams blocking the flow of water. Geological expert Prof Virender Singh Dhar told PTI that extensive cutting of hill slopes for construction and widening of roads, blasting for tunnels, and hydro projects are the main reasons behind the increase in landslides. He further said that vertical cutting of mountains for road construction has been witnessed in Himachal with just 5-10 feet of retaining walls. The monsoon trough’s northward advance and its “interaction with a weak western disturbance” are to blame for the high rainfall in Himachal Pradesh, according to Hindustan Times. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the monsoon trough is an “elongated low-pressure area that extends from heat low (a low pressure over the seas) over Pakistan to the head of the Bay of Bengal.” Economic Times quoted Anjal Prakash, Clinical Associate Professor (Research) and Research Director, Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business as saying that the heavy rains over the last weeks are consistent with the patterns expected in a warming world. The risk of landslides and flash floods might increase when temperatures rise because more heavy rains can occur. Prakash, an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) author, told IANS that the vulnerability of hillside communities and the crumbling of essential infrastructure further magnifies the tragedy. Immediate action is imperative, he told the news agency. With inputs from PTI