Cloudburst in Himachal's Rampur triggers flash floods, washes away 5-6 vehicles

A sudden cloudburst in Rampur, Himachal Pradesh, triggered flash floods, causing panic and the washing away of 5 to 6 vehicles on Saturday evening. Anni MLA Lokender Kumar said that water entered inside houses of people and demanded immediate relief work and proper assessment of losses for providing compensation. 

Lokender Kumar said, “Due to heavy rain here along with hailstorm, a cloud burst took place last evening. 5-6 cars have been swept away, and around 24-25 cars are damaged. People are facing a lot of difficulties here. I would request the PWD and revenue department to do a proper assessment of losses. Rescue work should be carried out immediately, and the cars that are struck should be pulled out."

A local, Salim Ahmed, said, “In the early evening, it rained very heavily with a storm. Water started flowing from the ditches and drains all of a sudden. Vehicles also started flowing at a very high speed. People came out of their houses and started screaming and crying. After some time, the police also came. They alerted all of us to leave our houses and go to a safe place.”

The local said four to five vehicles were washed out in the River Satluj.

Another local, Narayan, said that the cloudburst incident took place in front of him.

Narayan said, “I have a shop here. The cloudburst incident took place in front of me, and my car got trapped in the debris. I have come here to take my car.” No deaths were reported in the incident.

Himachal Pradesh has been witnessing widespread rainfall across the entire state over the past 24 hours. According to the Himachal Pradesh Meteorological Centre based in Shimla, the highest rainfall in the past 24 hours was recorded in Paonta Sahib, Sirmaur district, which received 107 mm of rain. This was followed by 103 mm of rainfall in Kandaghat, located in Solan district. In comparison, Rampur received 28 mm of rainfall.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) stated that this wet spell has been ongoing for the past four to five days and is expected to persist.

Senior Scientist at the Shimla Meteorological Centre, Sandeep Kumar Sharma said, “Over the last 24 hours, the day temperatures across the state have remained near normal. However, we have observed a drop in the minimum temperatures by 3 to 5 degrees Celsius in most areas. For instance, Shimla recorded a minimum temperature of 12 degrees Celsius, which is four degrees below the seasonal average.”

He added that the lower minimum temperatures are the result of persistent cloud cover and continuous rainfall over the past few days, which is preventing heat from being retained overnight. "This pattern is typical during prolonged wet spells," he explained.
Sandeep Kumar Sharma stated that there may be some relief on May 26, when rainfall activity is expected to decrease slightly.

However, a fresh spell of widespread rainfall is likely to affect the state again from May 27 to May 29.

The IMD has also issued a hailstorm alert for May 27 and 28 in several districts, including Chamba, Kangra, Mandi, Sirmaur, Shimla, and Solan. Residents and farmers in these districts are advised to take necessary precautions, as hailstorms can cause damage to crops and infrastructure.