The recent cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh has wrought devastating destruction, leaving an entire village obliterated. In the midst of this catastrophe, Anita Devi from the village of Samej shared her heart-wrenching story, highlighting the severity of the calamity.
Anita Devi, a resident of Samej village, recounted that on Wednesday night, while she and her family were asleep, a loud bang shook their house. She said, “When we looked outside, the entire village had been washed away. We fled to the village’s Bhagwati Kali Mata temple and spent the entire night there.” Her voice trembled with emotion as she spoke.
Anita continued, “Only our house survived the devastation, but everything else was swept away before my eyes. Now, I don’t know who I should stay with.”
In another poignant account, Bakhshi Ram, an elderly resident of Samej village, shared his own grief. With tears in his eyes, he said, “My family members, around 14 to 15 people, were swept away in the flood. I received news of the flood at 2 am and was in Rampur at the time, so I survived. When I arrived here at 4 am, everything was destroyed. Now, I am searching for my loved ones, hoping that someone is still alive.”
A total of 53 people are still missing and six bodies were recovered so far as on Saturday after a cloudburst followed by flashfloods wreaked widespread destruction in Kullu, Mandi and Shimla regions of Himachal Pradesh, as per the District Disaster Management Authority.
Special Secretary DC Rana of the DDMA said that over sixty houses were washed away and several villages have been severely affected by the floods.
Restoration works are underway in Rampur where the cloudburst and following flashfloods damaged a road that connected Rampur and Samej regions.
