Eight buildings collapse in Kullu; rain to lash hill state until Aug 30, Met says
Buildings collapse due to a rain-triggered landslide at Anni in Kullu district, on Thursday. Pics/PTI
At least eight vacant buildings collapsed on Thursday in rain-battered Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district, while three more bodies were recovered from the site of a landslide at the Shiv temple here.
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There were no casualties in the building collapse incident in Kullu’s Anni area.
Sub Divisional Magistrate (Anni) Naresh Verma said seven to eight buildings had developed cracks four-five days ago, and were vacated after being declared unsafe. The assessment of damage is being done and some other unsafe buildings along NH-305 in Anni have also been vacated, he added.
More rain ahead
Rains, meanwhile, continued to lash several parts of Himachal. The local Met office issued a yellow warning of heavy rain for Friday and predicted a wet spell in the state until August 30. Nearly 242 people have died and 40 are still missing since the onset of monsoon in Himachal Pradesh on June 24.
Climate change
This year’s monsoon has been anything but normal and experts point to climate change as the underlying cause.
From a cyclone with the longest lifespan in the Arabian Sea to devastating floods in parts of northwest India and the adjoining Himalayan states, as well as a prolonged break in the monsoon, the unmistakable imprints of climate change are evident this year, asserted Mahesh Palawat, vice president (Climate Change and Meteorology) at private forecasting agency Skymet Weather.
In June, 377 stations in India reported very heavy rain events (115.6 mm to 204.5 mm), the highest in the past five years, as per the India Meteorological Department data. July also saw a considerable rise in the number of heavy rain events.
“The message is clear: the monsoon is becoming more variable. Increased variability means more extreme weather and dry spells. What we’re witnessing now aligns with the studies on the impact of climate change on the Indian monsoon,” Madhavan Rajeevan, former secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, said.
Vulnerable Himalayas
Professor Y P Sundriyal from HNB Garhwal University said that the Himalayas are increasingly vulnerable due to global warming. The hilly states are at risk due to their fragile ecology and limited capacity to handle incessant rains.
“Climate change is increasing the intensity and frequency of El Nino which in turn can trigger extreme rainfall events and longer break monsoon phase,” he added.
120
No. of rain-related deaths in August in HP
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