Himachal: Toll in Mandi cloudbursts rises to 11, search on for 34 missing people
Shimla, Jul 2 (PTI): The death toll in cloudbursts and flash flood-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district has risen to 11 with the recovery of six more bodies, while the search for 34 missing people was underway, officials said on Wednesday.
The search operation might get hampered with the weather department issuing a warning of low to moderate flash-flood risk in parts of Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Shimla districts on Thursday.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who visited the disaster-hit Syathi village in Dharampur, announced a special relief package to assist in rebuilding damaged homes.
Additionally, enhanced compensation will be provided for lost livestock and destroyed cow shelters.
The state witnessed 11 cloudburst incidents, four flash floods and a major landslide on Tuesday, most of which occurred in the Mandi district. Cloudbursts were recorded at four locations in Gohar, three in Karsog, two in Dharampur, and one in Thunag.
Officials on Wednesday said two bodies were recovered from Siyanj village in Gohar, and one each in Thunag, Dhar Jarol, and Pandeev Sheel areas, while another body was found at Neri-Kotla in Jogindernagar.
On Tuesday, two deaths were recorded in Bada and one in Talwara, both in Gohar; one person died in Old Bazaar, Karsog; and another body was recovered at Neri-Kotla in Jogindernagar.
A total of 245 roads were closed in the state following heavy rains, and 918 transformers were disrupted.
Most of the damage was caused in Mandi, where 151 roads were blocked for vehicular movement and 489 transformers and 465 water schemes were affected as of Wednesday evening, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).
Additionally, 148 houses, 104 cattle sheds, 31 vehicles, 14 bridges and several roads were damaged. A total of 162 cattle perished in the calamities, while 370 people, including 316 in Mandi, were rescued, the SEOC said.
Eleven people still remain stranded, it added.
Sukhu, who inspected the damage caused to the Mandi-Kotli road, assured locals that if any government land is available nearby, it will be allotted to those who lost their homes. "In case the land falls under forests, the matter will be taken up with the Union Government," he added.
Distraught locals recounted their narrow escape after an entire village was swept away suddenly. They also informed the chief minister that they did not even have land left to pitch tents for shelter.
Later, Sukhu conducted an aerial survey of the disaster-affected areas of Thunag and Janjehli in the Mandi district and distributed relief material to the affected people at the Rain-Gallu helipad in Thunag.
Expressing shock at such an incident had never occurred before, even when eight to 10 cloudbursts happened in a night, the chief minister called for an in-depth study to ascertain the reasons for landslides even at places having solid strata.
Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, who also visited the affected area in his assembly constituency of Seraj, warned that the number of missing people could increase due to disrupted connectivity in the region.
He also called for rations to be air-dropped in areas where roads have been damaged.
The Jal Shakti Department reported damage to 3,698 schemes, including 2,786 drinking water supply schemes, 733 irrigation schemes, and 41 sewerage schemes.
The estimated damage has surpassed Rs 240 crore, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, who also holds the Jal Shakti portfolio, said.
He noted that restoration efforts are being conducted on a war footing, prioritising the resumption of drinking water and sewerage services.
The deputy chief minister said that 1,591 drinking water supply schemes have already been temporarily restored.
Two teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), alongside police and home guards, are actively engaged in search and rescue operations in the district.
Light to moderate rain continued in several regions of the state.
Kasauli received 55 mm of rain since Tuesday evening, followed by Baggi 54.8 mm, Dharampur 38.8 mm, Mandi 36.8 mm, Sarahan 32 mm, Solan 27.4 mm, Pandoh 27 mm, Jubbarhatti 26.2 mm, and Shimla 24.2 mm.
The meteorological office has issued an orange alert, warning of heavy to very heavy rains in isolated areas across the state from Friday to Sunday.
Narkanda was the coldest at night with a low of 13.4 degrees Celsius, while Una saw a significant rise in maximum temperature, reaching 36.2 degrees Celsius.
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US warns shipping firms they could face sanctions over paying Iranian tolls in Strait of Hormuz
Dubai (AP): The United States is warning shipping companies that they could face sanctions for making payments to Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The alert posted Friday by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control adds another layer of pressure in the standoff between the US and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the world's trade in oil and natural gas typically passes through the strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in peacetime.
Iran effectively closed the strait to normal traffic by attacking and threatening to attack ships after the US and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28. It later began offering some ships safe passage by detouring them through alternate routes closer to its shoreline, charging fees at times for the service.
That "tollbooth” effort is the focus of the US sanctions warning.
The payment demands could include transfers not only in cash but also “digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments,” including chartibale donations and payments at Iranian embassies, OFAC said.
“OFAC is issuing this alert to warn US and non-US persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage. These risks exist regardless of payment method,” it said.
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The US responded to Iran's closure of the strait with a naval blockade of its own on April 13, preventing any Iranian tankers from leaving and depriving Iran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.
The US Central Command said 45 commercial ships have been told to turn around since the blockade began.
Trump rejects Iranian proposal
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The warning came as US President Donald Trump swiftly rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war between the countries.
“They want to make a deal, I'm not satisfied with it, so we'll see what happens,” Trump said Friday at the White House. He didn't elaborate on what he saw as its shortcomings but expressed frustration with the Iranian leadership.
“It's a very disjointed leadership,” Trump said. “They all want to make a deal, but they're all messed up.”
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported Iran handed over its plan to mediators in Pakistan on Thursday night.
The shaky three-week ceasefire between the US and Iran appears to be holding, though both countries have traded accusations of violations. The standoff is increasingly putting pressure on the global economy, driving up prices and leading to shortages of fuel and other products tied to the oil industry.
Negotiations continued by phone after Trump called off his envoys' trip to Pakistan last week, the president said. Trump this week floated a new plan to reopen the critical passageway used by America's Gulf allies to export their oil and gas.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has briefed many of his regional counterparts on the country's initiatives to end the ear, according to his social media. He also held talks Friday with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is in contact with the EU's Gulf partners.
China's UN envoy urges Iran to lift restrictions
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Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassdor to the United Nations, said Friday that maintaining the ceasefire is “the most urgent issue" as well as bringing together the sides to resume good faith negotiations “to make sure that the ground is laid for reopening of Hormuz.”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi “has been on the phone almost constantly” with representatives from all sides, Fu said, adding that China supports Pakistan's efforts to mediate between the parties.
Fu stressed the root cause of the tremendous suffering in Iran and neighboring countries and the growing turmoil in the global economy, especially in developing countries, “is the illegitimate war by the US and Israel.
