India News | Himachal Witnessed 148 Cloudbursts, 294 Flash Floods, over 5000 Landslides Since 2018: Officials
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Since 2018, Himachal Pradesh has witnessed 148 cloudbursts, 294 flash floods, and over 5,000 landslides, with Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur and Mandi being highly vulnerable to such events, officials said on Thursday.
Shimla, July 24 (PTI) Since 2018, Himachal Pradesh has witnessed 148 cloudbursts, 294 flash floods, and over 5,000 landslides, with Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur and Mandi being highly vulnerable to such events, officials said on Thursday.
Special Secretary (Revenue-Disaster Management) D C Rana shared the statistics while giving a presentation to the Multi-Sectoral Central Team (MSCT).
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A meeting of the MSCT, constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs, to investigate the increasing incidents of natural disasters in Himachal Pradesh, was held on Thursday under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) K K Pant.
Pant stressed the need for institutions such as the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to conduct in-depth studies on the causes of natural disasters while being stationed in the state.
Highlighting the importance of assessing disaster-prone areas and focusing on early forecasting of such events, Pant stated that emphasis should be laid on pre-disaster planning rather than post-disaster response to minimise loss of life and property.
He also called for the installation of advanced sensors to improve data collection across the state.
Meanwhile, a total of 275 roads, including one National Highway, were closed for vehicular traffic in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday evening following heavy rains in the past days, officials said.
A maximum of 165 roads, including the Manali-Kotali (National Highway-70), are closed in the disaster-hit Mandi district, while 56 power distribution transformers and 173 water supply schemes have also been affected across the state, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).
Since the onset of the monsoon in Himachal Pradesh on June 20, as many as 79 people have died and 34 have been missing in rain-related incidents across the state.
The state has also experienced 42 flash floods, 25 cloudbursts and 28 landslides this monsoon season, resulting in losses of approximately Rs 1,387 crore, the SEOC stated.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)