At least three cloudbursts, including one at Rampur in Shimla and two in Kullu in Himachal Pradesh, were reported with 36 people, including 17 women and 19 men, reported missing from these areas. As many as 33 people were missing at Rampur and three in Kullu after the very heavy and sudden rainfall in the areas, said officials.
Cloudburst In Himachal Pradesh
Why In News
- At least three cloudbursts, including one at Rampur in Shimla and two in Kullu in Himachal Pradesh, were reported with 36 people, including 17 women and 19 men, reported missing from these areas. As many as 33 people were missing at Rampur and three in Kullu after the very heavy and sudden rainfall in the areas, said officials.
All You Need To Know
- According to officials, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has convened an emergency meeting in the state secretariat on Thursday to review the situation.
- Anupam Kashyap, Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, said teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police, and local rescue units were immediately dispatched to the affected area.
- Kashyap said relief efforts began immediately, with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Special Home Guard joining the operation. Ambulances and other essential services are also on-site.
- Officials said the cloudburst near the hydroelectric power project at Samej Khad in Rampur also caused widespread destruction with a dozen structures, including a government school building, reportedly damaged.
- Meanwhile, another cloudburst caused damage in the high mountains of Shrikhand Mahadev in Kullu district.
Cloudbursts
- Cloudburst is a sudden, intense, and localized burst of heavy rainfall over a short period of time. It can cause widespread destruction and potentially trigger flash floods and landslides.
- Cloudbursts are often accompanied by thunderstorms and hailstorms. It is a weather phenomenon with unexpected precipitation exceeding 100mm/h over a geographical region of approximately 20-30 square km. Rainfall of 10 cm or more in an hour over a roughly 10 km x 10-km area is classified as a cloudburst event.
- By this definition, 5 cm of rainfall in a half-hour period over the same area would also be categorized as a cloudburst. Cloudbursts are especially common in mountainous areas.
- This is probably because the warm air currents of a thunderstorm tend to follow the upward slope of a mountain.
- The effects of heavy rain are especially striking on mountain slopes because the falling water is concentrated in valleys and gulleys. Mountain cloudbursts cause sudden and destructive floods.
