In northern India, dozens of people have died in connection with heavy rains. According to official information from the regional government, 41 people have died in the state of Himachal Pradesh and several people are still missing. Indian media like The Times of India already spoke of up to 50 victims and 20 missing.
A Hindu temple collapsed due to the water masses of a monsoon rain. At least nine people were killed, the Prime Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, wrote on Monday on the short message service X, formerly Twitter. In addition, the head of government spoke of further landslides, floods and destroyed houses.
State police continue to issue alerts on the short message service X. Accordingly, caution is required on several riverbanks in Himachal Pradesh after water was released from the Pong Dam.
Over the weekend, Singh Sukhu posted images of a flooded road and fallen trees during the heavy rains, urging people not to go near rivers and other bodies of water. On the State government website It is said that the rains lasted for 48 hours on Monday. More than 1200 roads are affected. The rescue and clean-up work is underway.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) wrote on Monday that isolated heavy rains are expected to continue over the northern states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. However, these should subside from Tuesday.
By the end of July alone, more than 800 people had died in connection with the rain this year, as an employee of the national civil protection authority told the German Press Agency. The number of victims in the period was slightly lower than in the same period last year.
Heavy rains, causing severe flooding and landslides, are common in South Asia during the monsoon season. The monsoon usually lasts from June to September. The damage is often great – houses are washed away, there are always fatalities. At the same time, the rain is important for agriculture, from which a large part of the population lives.