10 die, infrastructure caves in as heavy rain batters north India

Heavy rains lashed large swathes of North India on Sunday, leaving at least ten people dead , with rivers in spate, urban infrastructure buckling under the weight of the incessant downpour, and widespread damage to property. The worst damage came from the hill states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, with homes and shops, even a section of the National Highway 3 to Manali being submerged in angry rivers, with the administration sounding warning for people to stay off the roads and take shelter.

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There were five deaths in Himachal Pradesh alone in rain related incidents with three people of a family killed after their home collapsed due to a landslide in Panevali village of Kotgarh. Another landslide in Kakiyan in Chamba buried one person who was later found dead, and the body of a woman was also recovered from the debris of a landslide in Kullu’s Lankabekar village. 

Officials said that over 250 roads in the state had been shut, and most rivers and streams were flowing above the danger mark. The most dramatic visuals came from the tourist destinations of Kullu and Manali where shops, standing cars, and even a segment of the national highway fell into the swirling waters of the river Beas. In Lahaul-Spiti, 30 college students who were stranded between Granphu and Chhota Darra after a flash flood on Samdo Kaza-Granphu road were rescued in an overnight operation.