Himachal News: Death toll rises to 72, IMD predicts very heavy rains in these 7 districts for next 48 hours. Top points

livemint.com:

Himachal Pradesh rains: The hilly state has been facing days of relentless rain that have killed more than 70 people till now. Reports have also stated that Indian Air Force (IAF) has rescued over 780 people from flood affected areas in the past forty eight hours. Hundreds of roads remain blocked and schools in the capital city of Shimla have been ordered shut as the Indian Air Force and disaster response teams help evacuate people from low-lying, vulnerable areas.

Rescue operations are going on in Summer Hill and Krishna Nagar areas. So far 14 bodies have been recovered from Summer Hill, five bodies from Fagli and two from Krishna Nagar, news agency PTI reported. -Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu carried out an aerial inspection of the flood-affected regions of Indora and Fatehpur in the Kangra district -Homes in some districts were also washed away after a cloudburst — a sudden, very heavy rain — Sunday night, leaving roads flooded and people stranded.

-The state government has requested the central government to declare a “national disaster" in Himachal Pradesh. The rain fury have already caused a monetary loss of around ₹75,000 crore in this year's monsoon for the state, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said. -The total number of deaths in rain-related incidents in the state since Sunday night has increased to 72 with Shimla alone accounting for 21 deaths.

-As many as 650 roads were blocked in the state and 1,135 transformers and 285 water supply schemes were disrupted. -Principal Secretary (Revenue) Onkar Chand Sharma said on Wednesday that the losses in the monsoon season have touched 7,500 crore. -Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu had said that his state will take a year to rebuild