Himachal Pradesh monsoon fury

Himachal was yet again struck by cloudbursts and flash floods in August 1, 2024. Here is what happened that fateful day.

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It all started like this.
On the intervening night of July 31st and August 1, 2024, when people were sleeping in their homes, the tragedy struck Himachal Pradesh yet again.
Chhape Ram Negi, a search and rescue expert and resident of Parvati valley in Kullu, was the first one to sound an alert on social media.
There were at least four cloud bursts that occurred almost simultaneously in Kullu, Mandi and Shimla district of this mountain state. The cloudbursts triggered massive flash floods causing huge devastation and loss of life.
In Kullu, a flash flood in the Malana rivulet ravaged everything on its way including a hydro water dam. As many as 33 employees and local residents got trapped inside the project site and had to be rescued. As the Malana dam collapsed, it further flooded the Paravati river downstream. The raging Parvati river swallowed everything on her way as the local administration sounded alert in the nearby Bhuntar town.
That morning, even the Beas river was in spate. A flooded Beas river washed away many stretches of the Chandigarh-Manali highway near Kullu and Manali.
As the water level rose, Pandoh dam gates were opened and that flooded the Mandi town downstream. Fortunately, no damage or loss was reported from Mandi town.
Another cloudburst that occurred in the mountain of Shrikhand Mahadev caused a flash flood that hit the Nirmand area of Kullu district at 1.10 am on Thursday. In the flash flood, at least 9 people went missing, one person died and around 11 houses and two bridges were washed away.
In the neighbouring Mandi district, a flash flood hit Terang village in the Chohar valley at 2.28 am. In the search operation carried out by a team of the NDRF, eight bodies have been recovered so far. Two persons are still missing.
But the worst hit was the Samej village near Rampur in Shimla district. Almost the entire village with at least 33 people were washed away in the flash flood. Among the missing are the eight school children of Samej school, which was also washed away.
The search operations for finding the missing people are on but the hope of their survival is fading each passing day.