Live: Heavy Monsoon Rain Causes Pahalgam Cloudburst, Shimla Landslide Scares as Downpours Batter India

On Saturday, torrential to extremely heavy rains pounded several parts of the country. Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh emerged as the hardest-hit states, where multiple landslides obstructed transportation and severely threw normal life out of gear. The IMD reported that exceptionally heavy rainfall occurred in Meghalaya, East Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh. Meanwhile, steady heavy downpours were observed in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram, West Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal. Landslides caused by heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand obstructed 120 roads, including a trio of national highways. Additionally, emergency services successfully guided approximately 100 stranded pilgrims to safety along a damaged section of the Yamunotri National Highway, which had been completely cut off for two days. The SDRF reported that a massive pile-up of mud and debris totally obstructed the highway at Syanachatti in Uttarkashi district on Thursday, following relentless rains that caused a landslide and destroyed a 100-meter section of the road. To extract the stranded travelers, rescue operators set up a safety rope along a bypass trail and carefully assisted them across the hazardous zone one at a time. -PTI

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Saturday held an assessment of the state's readiness to handle the monsoon after torrential rains triggered flash floods, landslides, and waterlogging across 32 villages. Sangma conducted a virtual review meeting with deputy commissioners to evaluate the damages caused by the continuous monsoon rainfall, which has hit multiple districts, especially across the Garo Hills and certain regions of the Khasi Hills. This ongoing wet spell, which commenced during the opening week of July, has wreaked havoc on infrastructure and roads in multiple locations. Officials confirmed that landslides, flash floods, and localized flooding have been documented in 32 different villages. As the IMD has predicted widespread showers with isolated heavy to extremely heavy downpours continuing until July 15, the Chief Minister instructed all district authorities to maintain a state of high vigilance. -PTI