- 08 July, 2025
Mandi, July 8, 2025 – As relentless monsoon rains continue to wreak havoc across Himachal Pradesh, causing widespread landslides, flash floods, and cloudbursts, a village dog’s timely barking in Mandi district became a lifesaving alarm for 67 people from 20 families.
In the early hours of June 30, between midnight and 1 am, the village of Siyathi in Dharampur, Mandi, was devastated by a massive landslide. Narendra, a resident of Siyathi, recalled that the family dog, asleep on the second floor of his home, suddenly began barking loudly and then howling amid the ongoing downpour.
"I woke up from the barking. As I went to him, I saw a big crack in the wall of the house and water had started to enter. I ran downstairs with the dog and woke everyone up," said Narendra.
Narendra quickly alerted other villagers, urging them to flee. The rainfall was so intense that families abandoned their belongings in haste, rushing for safety. Moments later, a landslide struck the village, flattening nearly a dozen homes. Only four or five houses remain visible; the rest lie buried beneath the debris.
In the aftermath, neighbouring villages extended assistance, while the government announced emergency aid of ₹10,000 for affected families.
Since the onset of the monsoon on June 20, at least 78 lives have been lost in Himachal Pradesh, according to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). Of these, 50 deaths were linked to rain-related disasters—landslides, flash floods, and cloudbursts—while 28 fatalities resulted from road accidents.
The extreme weather has caused severe destruction, with the state recording 23 flash floods, 19 cloudbursts, and 16 landslides so far. Mandi district has been the worst-hit, bearing the brunt of the cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides. The deluge has rendered 280 roads impassable, including 156 routes in Mandi alone.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a flash flood alert for 10 districts as of Monday, urging continued caution.
Source: NDTV
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