Monsoon fury unabated in Himachal, toll 18; over 300 stranded

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said efforts are on to rescue the 300 stranded people, and they could be airlifted as the weather clears. Power and water supply has been snapped in several areas. He said an assessment of loss is underway and it is estimated to be in the range of Rs 3,000-Rs.

4000 crore, according to a government statement. A preliminary estimates by the State Emergency Operation Centre, however, pegged the loss at Rs 785 crore. It reported 18 rain-related deaths since Sunday morning.

Officials said around 800 roads are still closed in the state. According to transport department officials bus services on 1,255 routes of the Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC) have been suspended and 576 buses are stranded at different places on route. Most hydropower projects have suspended production due to rise in silt level.

The Chandigarh-Manali National Highway is blocked due to landslides and flooding at multiple places. The Shimla-Kinnaur Road is also closed for vehicular traffic due to slides and falling of rocks. Viral social media captured the destruction caused by the heavy rains.

A clip showed a scary landslide at Ashwani Khad in Solan, while another recorded a three-storey hotel collapsing and sinking in Manali. Vehicles including trucks were swept away in gushing water in Kullu and floodwaters entered Thunag town in Mandi. Three members of a Nepali family were killed as their house collapsed at Shimla's Theog, with the video of the incident going viral.