At least 50 dead as heavy rains lash northern India
New Delhi, Aug 14 (EFE).- At least 50 people have been killed, following intense monsoon rains that caused flash floods and landslides in northern India in the last 24 hours.
The heavy rains have also blocked hundreds of roads, plunging the northern state of Himachal Pradesh into chaos.
More than 50 people have lost their lives and more than 20 others remain trapped, and the number of casualties is expected to rise, the state’s Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu told the media.
“The local administration is diligently working to clear the debris in order to rescue individuals who may still be trapped,” Sukhu said in a statement.
Some dozen deaths were reported from Shimla after a Hindu temple (Shiv Temple) collapsed as a result of the downpour.
Another seven people lost their lives in the Solan district of this mountainous state.
The cloudburst has caused numerous landslides, leading to the closure of more than 700 roads in the state.
The heavy downpour and landslides have prompted local authorities to order closure of schools in vulnerable areas of the state.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for several districts in the neighboring Uttarakhand state for extremely heavy rainfall on Monday.
Every year, heavy rains cause significant human and material losses in this south Asian country, especially during the monsoon season between May and September. EFE
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