Shimla: A recent cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh has caused catastrophic destruction, completely obliterating an entire village. Amidst this disaster, Anita Devi from the village of Samej shared her harrowing experience, highlighting the severity of the calamity.
Anita Devi, a resident of Samej village, recounted that on Wednesday night, a loud bang shook their house while her family was asleep. She said, “When we looked outside, the entire village had been washed away. We fled to the village’s Bhagwati Kali Mata temple and spent the entire night there.” Her voice trembled with emotion as she spoke.
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Anita continued, “Only our house survived the devastation, but everything else was swept away before my eyes. Now, I don’t know who I should stay with.”
In another poignant account, Bakhshi Ram, an elderly resident of Samej village, shared his grief. With tears in his eyes, he said, “My family members, around 14 to 15 people, were swept away in the flood. I received news of the flood at 2 am and was in Rampur at the time, so I survived. When I arrived here at 4 am, everything was destroyed. Now, I am searching for my loved ones, hoping that someone is still alive.”
As of Saturday, a total of 53 people are still missing, and six bodies have been recovered after a cloudburst and subsequent flash floods caused widespread destruction in the Kullu, Mandi, and Shimla regions of Himachal Pradesh, according to the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).
Special Secretary DC Rana of the DDMA reported that over sixty houses were washed away, and several villages have been severely affected by the floods. Restoration efforts are underway in Rampur, where the cloudburst and flash floods damaged a road connecting the Rampur and Samej regions.