A cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamshala has triggered a flash flood, washing away vehicles and causing damage to properties in the Bhagsu Nag area.
The incident was triggered after a night of relentless rain. Dharamsala, which is over 250 km from the state capital, recorded the precipitation of 119 mm, the highest ever in this monsoon.
Palampur in Kangra district recorded 155 mm rain, the highest in the state, while it was 48 mm in Dalhousie, 10 mm in the state capital and 55 mm in picturesque tourist resort Manali.
Several videos have been shared by locals as well as the authorities, including SHO Mcleodganj Vipin Chaudhary, on Twitter. Visuals also show an overflowing river Manjhi river in Dharamshala, wiping away nearly 10 shops in the area.
In Shimla, the national highway near Jhakri in the Rampur area has been blocked due to the heavy downpour.
Heavy rain has lashed the Kangra district, 58 km from Dharamshala, throwing life into disarray.
A 37-second clip, shared by news agency ANI, shot from the balcony of a building, shows dreadful visuals of a huge amount of water gushing rapidly through the parked vehicles. A few seconds into the clip, an SUV is seen being uprooted by the water but blocked by other vehicles, bundled together by flash floods.
Some of the hotels in the area have reported heavy damage. The cloudburst and flash floods have instilled fear in people and also caused commotion and confusion.
States such as Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, too, witnessed torrential rain. Visuals from ANI show debris from a landslide blocking the Rishikesh-Badrinath national highway number 7 near Chamoli.
