A northern Indian state in the Himalayas is bracing for more heavy rains after landslides, floods and the collapse of a temple killed more than two dozen people and severely hampered road transport.
(Bloomberg) — A northern Indian state in the Himalayas is bracing for more heavy rains after landslides, floods and the collapse of a temple killed more than two dozen people and severely hampered road transport.
“Extremely heavy” rainfall is likely at some places of Himachal Pradesh during the next 24 hours, according to the India Meteorological Department. Neighboring Uttarakhand state will also witness heavy downpours, it said.
At least 29 people were killed in Himachal Pradesh, nine of them buried under the rubble of a temple, as heavy rains caused landslides and damaged houses, the Press Trust of India reported. More than 700 roads in the state were closed, while all schools and colleges were shut on Monday, it said.
“Reports of cloudbursts and landslides have emerged from various parts of the state, resulting in loss of precious lives and property,” Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, said in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Torrential rains and floods are common in some regions of India during the monsoon season that runs from June to September, but the intensity of extreme weather events has been rising. Climate change is making precipitation more uneven, increasing the chances of both flooding and droughts, according to the country’s weather department.
Erratic weather has been hurting India’s grain production since early 2022, according to industry estimates, prompting the government to curb exports of wheat, rice and sugar to control soaring domestic prices. Restrictive trade measures by the world’s major producer of cereals and sugar have sent benchmark Asian rice prices to the highest in almost 15 years, while US sugar has jumped more than 20% this year.
The IMD has predicted moderate flash floods in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and asked people to avoid staying in vulnerable structures. Rainfall will also gradually increase in parts of eastern and adjoining central regions from Monday, it said. Subdued showers are expected over the rest of the country during the next four to five days, it said.
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