Rain fury in Himachal: Toll rises to 91; dog’s bark and woman’s grit save lives amid chaos

Shimla: The monsoon fury continues to batter Himachal Pradesh, taking the death toll to 91, with 30 people still missing and 131 injured, as per the latest report by the State Emergency Operation Centre.

Six more bodies were recovered in the past 24 hours, while stories of resilience and heroism emerged from the heart of disaster-hit villages.

In the terrifying night of June 30, when cloudbursts and flash floods struck Syathi village in Dharampur, it wasn’t a siren or a phone alert that saved lives — it was a dog’s frantic bark. “We were all asleep when our dog started barking wildly,” recalled Lalit Kumar, a resident. On investigating, he found cracks in the ground and a fast-rising stream of water near his house. He rushed his family out just in time. Moments later, the house was swept away.

The dog too was found alive the next evening — buried, but breathing. Not a single life was lost in Syathi that night, thanks to the loyalty of a pet.

In Mandi’s Thunag region, where 466 people were affected by a series of cloudbursts, another tale of survival emerged. Tuneja Thakur, a 20-year-old woman, was buried under debris near her house. For five hours, she used her bare hands to dig through the mud, creating just enough space to breathe and escape. “I knew I had to come out alive,” she said.

Horrors of that night still haunt Thunag, Gohar, and Seraj valleys where houses, cattle sheds, and roads were reduced to rubble.

Over 225 houses, 243 cowsheds, 752 shops, and over 22,000 livestock and poultry have been lost so far. As many as 14 valley bridges and one hydroelectric project has also been crippled.

Adding to the misery, cloudbursts recently hit Kortang (Mandi) and Bagehi (Chamba), washing away bridges, roads, and large patches of agricultural land. In Kortang, three small bridges were washed away, while in Bagehi, a bridge was destroyed, and the approach road to a PHC and AYUSH hospital remains blocked.

Meanwhile, the number of disrupted public services is soaring. As of July 10 evening, 207 roads remain blocked, including 134 in Mandi, 132 electricity transformers (DTRs) are disrupted, with 107 in Gohar alone and 812 water supply schemes are affected, with 204 in Mandi, especially in Thunag, Sundernagar, and Karsog.

Relief camps have been set up across affected areas. Thousands have received food and ration kits. Rescue teams from NDRF, SDRF, Army, and ITBP continue to operate in cloudburst-hit regions like Gohar, Dharampur, Karsog, and Janjehli.

The India Meteorological Department has issued fresh warnings of more heavy rain in Mandi, Kangra, Kullu, and Sirmaur, putting authorities on high alert. Schools have been closed in vulnerable areas, and road restoration is underway amid ongoing landslide threats.