According to the administration, a cloud burst near Kayas village in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district at around 4 am on Monday resulted in the death of at least one person and injuries to three others.
The District Emergency Operation Centre (DEOC) in Kullu released a statement confirming the incident. It stated, “An incident of cloud burst has occurred near village Kayas, (Raysan) Tehsil and District Kullu. In this incident, one person died on the spot and three persons got injuries.” The victims were reportedly washed away in a vehicle.
The DEOC also mentioned that a police team was en route to the incident site, but the road was blocked at one point and a JCB (construction vehicle) had been deployed to clear the blockage. They promised to provide further information soon.
The person who lost their life was identified as Badal Sharma from Chansari village in Kullu district, while the three injured individuals were identified as Khem Chand from Badogi village, Suresh Sharma from Chansari village, and Kapil from Chansari village, according to reports from news agency ANI.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had earlier issued an alert stating that Himachal Pradesh was likely to experience heavy to very heavy rainfall on Monday. They tweeted, “#OrangeAlert: #HimachalPradesh & #Uttarakhand likely to get heavy to very heavy rainfall (115.6 to 204.4 mm) during 16th to 17th July.”
The IMD also issued a ‘moderate to high risk’ alert for flash floods in five districts of Himachal Pradesh until July 17. According to their bulletin, there is a moderate to high risk of flash floods in certain watersheds and neighborhoods of Chamba, Kangra, Sirmaour, Shimla, and Kullu districts.
Since the start of the monsoon on June 24, rain-related incidents and road accidents have resulted in the deaths of at least 122 people in the state, with 12 people still missing, according to the state emergency response center. Furthermore, 720 roads in the state are currently blocked for vehicular traffic, and efforts are underway to restore connectivity.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu conducted an aerial inspection of the state and interacted with those affected by the floods, as reported by local media.
In the national capital, Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced financial assistance of ten thousand rupees per family for those affected by the floods. He took to Twitter to share the measures being taken to assist flood-affected families, stating, “Many very poor families living on the banks of river Yamuna have suffered a lot. In some families, the entire household goods were washed away.” He announced that each flood-affected family would receive Rs 10,000 and that schools would provide clothes and books to children whose belongings were washed away.