CHANDIGARH: With the recovery of four more bodies from Mandi and Shimla, the death toll in a series of cloudburst-triggered flash floods in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh rose to 12 on Monday, as per the state emergency response centre data from June 27 onwards.
As many as 46 people in the state, including 30 in Samej village in Rampur subdivision of Shimla district, are sill untraceable, the data indicates. Since June 27, Himachal was hit by 37 cloudbursts, flashfloods and 18 landslides. While 83 houses have been fully damaged, flashfloods damaged 38 partially, and landslides one, taking the total to 122. Meanwhile, 14 shops have also been impacted.
The locals claimed that three villages (Samej, Dhara Sarda and Kushwa) along the the border of Shimla and Kullu, have no power since the tragedy struck.
More machinery, sniffer dog squad, drones and other equipment have been pressed into service. Around 410 people from teams of the Army, NDRF, SDRF, ITBP, CISF, Himachal Pradesh Police and home guards are involved in the rescue operation besides four JCB machines, said sources.