Himachal Pradesh: Shimla landslide near St. Edward’s school; classes suspended for two days

NEW DELHI: A landslide struck near a prominent school here on Friday, prompting the administration to order closure of the institution for two days. The landslide occurred in Himland area near the St. Edwards School, one of the oldest schools here. Keeping in mind the safety of children, Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, Anupam Kashyap ordered closure of the school on Friday and Saturday.

A house on the hill in Himland has been endangered after the slide. This stretch is continuously sliding and a massive landslide was earlier witnessed on Tuesday. Cloudburst and landslides have thrown life out of gear in Himachal Pradesh which has reported fresh incidents of rain-related damage. Two vehicles were buried following a cloudburst in Thach village in Kinnaur district on Thursday night, officials said. A three-storey building collapsed on Thursday evening due to land subsidence in Karevathi panchayat in Kumarsain area of Shimla.

Moderate to heavy rains were witnessed in parts of the state where Naina Devi received 158.6 mm of rain since Thursday evening followed by Nahan 38.2 mm, Bhattiyat 37.1 mm, Baldwara 28, Kahu 23.5 mm and Bilaspur 20 mm. Thunderstorms were witnessed in Shimla, Kangra, Bhuntar, Murari Devi and Sundernagar while gusty winds with wind speed ranging between 35 to 39 kmph lashed Tabo and Bajaura, the MeT said.

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Schools closed in hill districts

Since the onset of monsoon this year, the Himalayan state has witnessed 46 cloudbursts, 98 flash floods and 146 major landslides, while 424 people have died. Of those dead, 242 lost their lives in rain-related incidents and 182 in road accidents. About 481 people have suffered injuries, while 45 are still missing. A total of 555 roads, including three national Highways namely NH 3 (Attari-Leh road), NH-5 (Old Hindustan-Tibet Road) and the NH-503A (Amritsar-Bhota road), were closed on Friday morning.

A maximum of 203 roads have been closed in Kullu, followed by 158 in Mandi and 50 in Shimla district, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC). The SEOC also reported that 162 power transformers and 197 water supply schemes have been affected, leading to approximate losses of Rs 4,749 crore, so far. The data indicates that 1604 houses were destroyed, while 7025 suffered partial damage. Himachal received an average rainfall of 1021.6 mm during the ongoing monsoon season from June 1 to September 19 against the normal rainfall of 701.7 mm, an excess of 46 per cent.