Himachal monsoon fury: 1 more body found, toll mounts to 85

Drones being used to trace missing persons; road from Thunag to Jarol temporarily restored, say officials

- HT Correspondents

The death toll in Himachal Pradesh due to landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts and other rain-related incidents, since the onset of monsoon from June 20, has risen to 85 on Tuesday with 35 still missing as per the data released by the state emergency operation centre (SEOC).

One body was recovered from Mandi’s Kutinallah of Karsog sub division, taking the toll in Mandi to 15 with 27 people still missing, informed officials.

Drones being used by teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and state disaster response force (SDRF) to trace the missing persons. The search is underway from river Bakhli near Pandoh to Patikri Dam. Also, two teams of NDRF are conducting extensive search operations with the help of drones in Thunag Khad and Lambathach area.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday has issued an alert of a low to moderate flash flood risk in eight districts of the state for 24 hours.

The alert has been issued in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur, Solan and Una districts.

The spells of heavy rainfall are expected to continue at isolated places in parts of the state in coming days, however, no orange alert has been sounded in the coming days.

For July 9, a yellow alert of heavy rainfall has been sounded in Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Solan and Sirmaur districts. It will be followed by a yellow alert on July 10 in Una, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Sirmaur and Solan districts.

According to MeT department officials, light to moderate rainfall is very likely at many places in the hill-state from July 8 to 14, with one or two spells of heavy rainfall expected at isolated places during this period.

198 roads still closed