At least 49 people have been killed and dozens are thought to be missing after intense rain caused floods and landslides in the Indian Himalayan region.
Days of torrential downpours have washed away vehicles, demolished buildings and destroyed bridges in the northern states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Flooding and landslides are common and cause widespread devastation during India’s monsoon season but experts say the climate crisis is increasing their frequency and severity.
In Himachal Pradesh, an official toll showed that 41 people had died in the past 24 hours, including at least nine killed when a Hindu temple collapsed in the state capital, Shimla. At least 13 others were missing, according to the official toll.
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, said: “The local administration is diligently working to clear the debris in order to rescue individuals who may still be trapped.”
Officials said at least eight other people had been killed since Friday in neighbouring Uttarakhand.
Images showed bodies being pulled out of thick piles of dark earth that had crushed buildings and smashed roofs.
Thousands of people have been stranded, with key roads, power lines and communication networks disrupted. Railway lines were left dangling in midair after the ground beneath them washed away.
Sukhu, who posted a “disturbing” video of a raging torrent swamping roads on social media, appealed to people to stay indoors and avoid going near rivers. Schools in the state had been shut, he said.
The Indian president, Droupadi Murmu, said she was “hurt with the loss of lives in accidents because of heavy rains” and offered her condolences to those who had suffered in Himachal Pradesh.
In Uttarakhand, rescue teams removed debris after people were feared buried when heavy rainfall triggered landslides.
Five people were buried under debris after a landslide at a resort near Rishikesh, a popular yoga retreat on the banks of the Ganges River.
The district police superintendent, Shweta Choubey, said a girl had been rescued from the site but the rest of her family were still under the collapsed building.
Several riverside towns and villages in the Himalayan northern states were at risk of flash floods from heavy rain.
The monsoon brings south Asia about 80% of its annual rainfall and is vital for agriculture and the livelihoods of millions. But it also causes destruction every year through landslides and floods.
Last month, days of relentless monsoon rain killed at least 90 people, while in the capital, Delhi, the Yamuna River reached its highest level since 1978.
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