Cloudbursts, Landslides and Flash Floods Wreak Havoc Across Himachal Pradesh

Shimla: Multiple districts of Himachal Pradesh were battered by cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides on Thursday, damaging key infrastructure, blocking roads — including a national highway — and leaving one person missing in a suspected drowning in Kullu district, officials said.

The State Emergency Operation Centre reported incidents from Shimla, Sirmaur, Lahaul-Spiti, Kullu, and Kinnaur, where eight bridges, 12 vehicles, and several homes and cattle sheds were damaged. While no fatalities were recorded, rescue and restoration work is underway across the affected regions.

In one of the most critical incidents, the Indian Army rescued four civilians stranded after a sudden flash flood struck Hojis Lungpa Nala in Kinnaur around 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Triggered by a cloudburst in the Rishi Dogri Valley, the deluge swept away a bridge over the Sutlej River and injured one person at a CPWD road construction site.

Acting on an urgent call from police, the Army’s humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) team braved fast currents, unstable terrain, and darkness to reach the site. They evacuated the injured to the Regional Hospital in Reckong Peo and used high-altitude logistics drones to deliver food, water, and essentials to the stranded individuals through the night.

Elsewhere in Kinnaur, floods in the Changreji rivulet at Tashigang damaged irrigation channels and pipelines. In Shimla district, a cloudburst in Nanti Ganvi, Rampur, prompted the evacuation of residents and destroyed sheds and a house, while a bridge collapse severed access to multiple villages and three gram panchayats. A landslide at Khaltunala in Kotkhai damaged parked vehicles.

Kullu district saw a drowning at Chowki in Manikaran, a cloudburst in Bthad that swept away cottages and vehicles, and a flash flood at Kurpan Khad in Bagipul. Lahaul-Spiti faced flash floods near Jahalman, a cloudburst at Munni Nallah, road blockages, and damage to a bridge abutment, while floods at Khurik shut down National Highway 505.

In Sirmaur district’s Rajgarh, a landslide killed four cattle, destroyed a cowshed, and washed away a parked car.

The government said restoration teams are working to reopen blocked roads, repair damaged bridges, and restore essential services, while damage assessment continues in all affected districts.