Landslides triggered by cloudburst in Himalayan state kills at least 29, dozens missing

Temple in Himachal Pradesh collapses burying at least nine people under debris

At least 29 people have been killed, while dozens are feared trapped or missing due to landslides triggered by torrential rains in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh.

A Hindu temple in Shimla collapsed killing at least nine people and another seven were found dead following a cloudburst in Solan district.

Television footage and videos on social media showed houses flattened by landslide, buses and cars hanging on the edge of precipices after roads gave way, and hundreds of people at rescue sites as emergency workers struggled to clear the debris.

"Again, tragedy has befallen Himachal Pradesh, with continuous rainfall over the past 48 hours," the state's chief minister, Sukhvinder Singh, said in a post on the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Reports of cloudbursts and landslides have emerged from various parts of the state resulting in loss of precious lives and property," the chief minister added while urging people to stay inside their houses and away from rivers and landslide-prone areas.

Schools and other educational institutes were ordered to close on Monday and people in danger were being moved to safety in shelters, state officials said.

Parts of the state had received as much as 273mm of rain in 24 hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The state is predicted to experience heavy to very heavy rainfall reaching extremely heavy levels on Monday, according to the IMD forecast.

It had issued a red alert over the weekend for intense downpours in neighboring Uttarakhand state, where 60 people have died in monsoon rains this season. A defence college building has collapsed in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun region.

"This is the first time we're seeing multiple cloudburst incidents and widespread damage in the state," said state disaster management official Praveen Bhardwaj. A mother and her child were killed in the Mandi district when their house collapsed, he added.

Cloudbursts are a common occurrence in Himalayan regions, however, there have been concerns with the increase in frequency due to extreme weather-related events in the area.

They occur when more than 10 centimeters of rainfall occurs within 10 square kilometers within an hour. They have the potential to cause intense flooding and landslides and can affect thousands of people in India's mountainous regions.

In the Mandi district, rescue operations were ongoing after flash floods swept away seven people, the chief minister said.

More than 750 inundated roads, including national highways, were closed in the state due to multiple landslides and flash floods, authorities said.

Locals took to social media to raise alarm over the situation while sharing details of the devastation across the state with a population of 7.1 million.

“Since the cloudburst occurred this morning, the sight of dead body vans, incessant grief in the hearts and eyes of people I’ve known since decades and innocent beings standing in hope for their loved ones to come out safely from under the debris is heartbreaking,” wrote Akriti Mattu.

“The situation in Himachal is getting worse. There is no electricity or power in many areas,” said journalist Srishti Jaswal.

In July, record monsoon showers killed more than 100 people over two weeks in parts of northern India, including Himachal Pradesh, which was one of the worst-hit states.

Last year, flash floods killed nearly 200 people and washed away houses in Uttarakhand.