Havoc in Himachal: Floods, landslides swamp life and livelihoods, no relief in sight

Education is still on pause and roadways blocked in Himachal Pradesh, as the state still struggles to weather the worsening monsoon crisis, with heavy rainfall triggering widespread flooding, infrastructural damage and mounting casualties across the state.

In the wake of a series of disasters and heavy rainfall, the IMD has again had to place Chamba, Kangra and Mandi under red alert for the next two days (28–29 August) with further severe weather anticipated.

A yellow alert has been issued for Thursday in Chamba, Lahaul-Spiti, Kangra, Kullu, and Mandi, while Shimla and Mandi are under the same alert for 29 August, Friday. Meanwhile, an orange alert will stay in effect on 30–31 August across Mandi, Shimla, and Solan. On 31 August, the orange alert will also apply to Kullu, Mandi, Kangra and Shimla.

The enormity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that since 20 June, 156 people have died due to rain-related incidents in the state. The monsoon season has so far recorded 77 flash floods, 41 cloudbursts and 81 major landslides in the state.

With social media replete with visuals of crumbling hotels and iconic buildings being swept away by rivers in spate, the IMD weather forecast — of persistent moderate to heavy rainfall till 1 September — can only bring more gloom for residents of the Himalayan state, which has already received 62 per cent more rainfall than usual in August, leading to a series of weather advisories.

The rain has been far above normal across key regions: Kullu (155 per cent), Shimla (112 per cent), Solan (117 per cent) and Una (128 per cent).

Infrastructure damage

Floodwaters have caused catastrophic disruption to the state’s transportation and utility infrastructure. The Chandigarh–Manali highway remains blocked for a third consecutive day and the Manali–Leh highway has been completely shut down after being severely damaged by flooding.

The Beas River, now in spate, has caused immense destruction. It has washed away around 200 m of the Manali–Leh highway and destroyed multiple multi-storey buildings, including the well-known Sher-e-Punjab restaurant in Manali.

According to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), a staggering 690 roads remain closed across the state — 320 in Mandi and 132 in Kullu alone.

Additionally, 956 power transformers are down; 517 water supply schemes have been affected, disrupting essential services in several regions.

Schools and colleges shut

In response to the ongoing crisis, the government has ordered the closure of all educational institutions in several districts. ‘Schools in Chamba, Kangra, Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, and the Kullu subdivisions of Banjar, Kullu, and Manali remain shut’, according to official instructions.

The closures include all government and private schools, colleges, ITIs, polytechnics, and engineering institutions, enforced as a precautionary safety measure.

Authorities have advised residents to avoid unnecessary travel and stay away from rivers, streams and landslide-prone areas, as conditions remain dangerous.

The state government continues coordinating with disaster response teams and emergency services to provide immediate relief and restore essential services across the affected regions.

With inputs from PTI, IANS