Rescuers searched Tuesday for people feared missing in floods and landslides that have killed at least 58 in India, including nine who died in the collapse of a popular temple.
Days of torrential downpours have washed away vehicles, demolished buildings and destroyed bridges in the Himalayas. Flooding and landslides are common and cause widespread devastation during India’s treacherous monsoon season, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency and severity.
Fifty people have been killed in Himachal Pradesh since Sunday, with thousands more stranded after disruptions to roads, power lines and communication networks.
“As many personnel as possible are being deployed in relief and rescue work,” state chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said in a statement late Monday.
“Work will continue on a war-footing to provide relief to the people.” Sukhu said earlier that up to 20 others were feared trapped under rubble after landslides, and appealed to residents to stay indoors and avoid going near rivers.
Images from hard-hit areas in Himachal Pradesh showed bodies being pulled out of piles of dark earth that had crushed buildings and smashed roofs. Railway lines were seen dangling in midair, the ground beneath them washed away.
At least nine people died when a landslide triggered the collapse of a Hindu temple in state capital Shimla, with officials fearing more were trapped underneath the rubble.
Sukhu said the state would scale down Tuesday’s annual celebrations of Independence Day, which marks the end of the British colonial era, to concentrate on rescue efforts.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking from the Red Fort in New Delhi for his annual holiday address, said that recent natural disasters had caused “unimaginable troubles” for families across the country.—INP
