Himachal Pradesh death toll rises: What is behind the hill state’s recent spell of rains?

Landslides triggered by heavy rainfall have caused disruption across several parts of Himachal Pradesh since Sunday (13 August) night. Dozens of people have died in rain-related incidents that hit the hill state has witnessed in the last few days.

A fresh landslide in Krishna Nagar locality on Tuesday (15 August) morning left two dead and many missing. At least eight houses collapsed due to the landslide, while a slaughterhouse was among the rubble, as per the news agency PTI. The neighbouring Uttarakhand is also reeling from the effects of torrential rains. 

After July, this is the second time during the monsoon season that the two hill states have been ravaged by extreme rainfall and flooding.

How have heavy showers wreaked havoc in Himachal Pradesh? Why is this happening? We explain.

Rain fury in Himachal

Heavy downpours, cloudbursts and landslides have set off a trail of destruction in the hill state.

Two landslides hit Shimla on Monday at Shiv Bawadi temple in Summer Hill and Fagli. Five people died in the Fagli landslide.

Another body was rescued from the site of collapsed Shiv Bawadi temple today, taking the total death toll in the state to 57, as per PTI.

“Rescue operations are underway at both places of Summer Hill and Krishna Nagar. So far, 13 bodies have been recovered from Shiv Temple in the Summer Hill area, whereas one body and one severed head were found in Krishna Nagar,” Deputy commissioner Shimla Aditya Negi told the news agency.

VIDEO | “Rescue operations are underway at both places of Summer Hill and Krishna Nagar. So far, 13 bodies have been recovered from Shiv Temple in Summer Hill area, whereas one body and one severed head were found in Krishna Nagar,” says Deputy Commissioner Shimla Aditya Negi. pic.twitter.com/mptg8hik8U

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 16, 2023

SDM Shimla (Urban) Bhanu Gupta said that search and rescue are underway, with teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), army, local police and home guard been deployed for the operations, reported ANI.

As per a PTI report, around 15 families have vacated their houses in Krishna Nagar in fear of landslides. They have been shifted to safer places. A flash flood in the Mandi district on Monday swept away seven people, reported India Today. 

#WATCH | Several houses collapsed in Krishna Nagar area in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla after a landslide took place. Rescue operation underway.

(Video Source: Local; confirmed by Police and administration) pic.twitter.com/qdYvR4C4fx

— ANI (@ANI) August 15, 2023

Videos of falling trees, collapsing homes and people crying for help have surfaced on social media.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who met people injured due to cloudbursts in Solan district on Monday, has estimated that around 60 people have been killed in the last three days, the report added.

Himachal is bracing for another spell of rain as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted isolated heavy rainfall for today (16 August).

What’s behind this incessant rainfall?

According to Hindustan Times (HT), the monsoon trough’s northward movement and its “interaction with a weak western disturbance” are to be blamed for the recent spell of heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The monsoon trough is an “elongated low-pressure area which extends from heat low (a low pressure over the seas) over Pakistan” to the head of the Bay of Bengal, as per IMD.

“The monsoon trough is lying along the foothills of the Himalayas. It is likely to gradually shift southwards and lie near its normal position from 18 August,” the weather agency said in its bulletin on Tuesday. A western disturbance, along with a cyclonic circulation present over south-west Bangladesh and its nearby areas, is affecting the western Himalayas, as per the newspaper.

Mahesh Palawat, vice-president, climate and meteorology at Skymet Weather Services, a private forecaster, told HT, “A part of the monsoon trough is between Meerut and Delhi. This is causing rainfall over Delhi. There will be patchy rain over Delhi NCR (national capital region) and east-central India for 1-2 days, but the trough will again move northward around 20 August”.

Palawat said more heavy rainfall can be expected during that time over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Chief minister Sukhu said on Tuesday that around a 157 per cent increase in rainfall in Himachal has caused extreme damage across the state. “I believe that the construction in Shimla and the mismanagement of the drainage system in the houses led to weakening of the hills,” the chief minister told PTI.

“The river didn’t enter the houses, the houses entered the river. The drainage system of the houses was not managed, we did not pay attention to the structuring. The laws need to be made stronger, and we will soon act on this,” Sukhu said.

As per the chief minister, the state has suffered an estimated loss of Rs 10,000 crore since the onset of monsoon in June.

#WATCH | Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu says “I am on the way to Kangra. We have evacuated over 650 people there. Around 100 people are still trapped in Kangra, rescue operation is underway. Another body has been recovered in Shimla. The state has suffered a loss of… pic.twitter.com/91hNCsQ8yD

— ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2023

HT reported citing experts that loosening of soil, heavy erosion, and flash floods over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are the result of heavy rainfall affecting the Himalayan states and the northeastern states since 7 August.

“During the monsoon breaks monsoon trough shifts north close to foothills which produces heavy rains over the hills and northeast India. Nepal also gets good rain. This was expected in general,” M Rajeevan, former secretary, ministry of earth sciences, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Kalachand Sain, director of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, told HT that besides torrential showers, landslides are also triggered by “tectonic activity and anthropogenic causes such as drawdown of groundwater which can create a vacuum under the surface, heavy construction activity and mining”.

“Forest and plant cover often play a very significant role in slowing down the impact of continuous rainfall on soil,” he added.

What about Uttarakhand?

In Uttarakhand, at least six people have died, while seven people are still missing. Landslides damaged infrastructure and cut off major roads in the hill state.

On Tuesday, the SDRF personnel rescued 42 out of over 100 stranded pilgrims after the collapse of a bridge on the trek route to Madmaheshwar, as per Indian Express.

Debris from landslides has led to the blockade on the Badrinath national highway. In Pauri district, landslides due to heavy rainfall have claimed at least three lives.

According to the IMD, “light/moderate scattered to fairly widespread rainfall/thunderstorm and lightning with isolated heavy rainfall” is likely over Uttarakhand from 15-19 August.

The rivers of Ganga, Mandakini and Alaknanda have crossed the danger mark in Rudraprayag, Devprayag and Shrinagar, reported NDTV. As many as 1,169 houses and agricultural lands have been damaged due to the recent rain fury.

With inputs from agencies