Image: PTI
Following the heavy rainfall over the past few weeks, the devastating news of a cloudburst has been reported from the Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh. The cloudburst wreaked havoc in the district, as it swept away a few houses in the village of Shalkhar on July 18. As per the reports, no casualties have been reported so far but the rescue operations are still going on.
Shalkhar village is located around 7-10 km from Sumdo check post towards Pooh and is located close to the China-occupied Tibet border. Due to cloudburst and resultant deluge, the main road of the border has been closed. Even the Shimla-Kaza road has been blocked for vehicles at four places between Chango and Shalkhar villages. The locals are taking their possessions out of their houses and transporting them to some safe place.
The state disaster management director, Sudesh Mokhta, mentioned that the cloudburst occurred on Monday around 7 pm. It has damaged a crematorium, a small bridge, and several orchards.
Image: India TV News
After the incident, the local administration, police, and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) troops were at the village for rescue and relief measures. Although the roads are closed for a while, an advisory has been issued for tourists urging them to stay in their hotels until the situation is better.
A lot of damage has been done to the houses and gardens of locals due to muddy water constantly gushing into the settlements after the cloud burst, said Shanta Kumar, Zilla Parishad member. He further stated that natural disaster is due to the changing environmental conditions and tampering with nature.
Image: Twitter
Even the India Meteorological Department indicates that the heavy downpour won’t stop yet. They have predicted that the widespread rainfall with isolated thunderstorms and lightning will continue in the North Indian States, such as Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttarakhand, till July 20.
Twitter users are sharing images of the cloudburst, here are a few tweets:
Via: Times of India