Fresh overnight rains batter Himachal, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra causing extensive damage

Fresh overnight rains have unleashed widespread devastation across Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra, compounding the toll of a relentless monsoon season that has already left hundreds dead and caused extensive damage.

In Uttarakhand, cloudbursts and heavy downpours swept through Dehradun and several other districts, leaving 15 people dead, 16 missing and more than 900 stranded.

Swollen rivers tore through roads, bridges and homes, with Dehradun district reporting the highest casualties with13 lives lost, including eight residents of Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh whose tractor-trolley was washed away in the Tons River.

One fatality each was reported in Nainital and Pithoragarh districts. Rescue operations by the NDRF, SDRF and fire brigade personnel have brought most of the stranded to safety, though the search for the missing continues amid adverse weather.

Neighbouring Himachal Pradesh also bore the brunt of the rains, where three members of a family were killed in landslides and flash floods triggered by the downpour. Officials said the state has so far suffered losses amounting to Rs 4,582 crore during this monsoon season, with 236 deaths in rain-related incidents and a further 181 lives lost in road accidents.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu accused Union ministers of visiting flood-hit areas only for political gain, urging them instead to announce concrete relief packages. Several Union ministers of state, including Shantanu Thakur, Savitri Thakur and Ajay Tamta, have toured the disaster-hit regions.

Maharashtra too reported severe weather impacts, with a cloudburst in Jalgaon district inundating 10 villages. District Collector Ayush Prasad confirmed that 452 houses were submerged, 2,500 hectares of farmland destroyed, and one person killed in the incident. Rising water levels in rivers and drains entered homes, further aggravating the situation.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Congress described the damage caused by heavy rains and floods in the Union territory as “colossal” and called on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to step up relief measures.

With monsoon rains continuing to batter vulnerable hill states and plains alike, authorities remain on high alert as rescue and relief efforts intensify across multiple states still reeling from weeks of natural disasters.