At least 15 houses were evacuated in the Ner Gharwarsra Panchayat of Jogindernagar, around 80 km from Mandi town, after a landslide struck the area, police said on Wednesday.
Residents were moved to safety as a precautionary measure amid continuous minor landslides. Local authorities remain on high alert, closely monitoring the situation.
“The evacuation was carried out to avoid any mishap due to persistent light landslides. So far, no casualties or major damage have been reported,” said Sakini Kapoor, SHO of Jogindernagar.
The incident comes a day after a deadly landslide in Sundernagar, where two houses were buried under debris, raising the death toll to six after three more bodies were recovered.
Rescue teams comprising the Indian Army, NDRF, and SDRF are continuing search operations to trace three people still missing. “In one of the houses, four members were trapped. Two were rescued but later succumbed in hospital. In the second house, one body has been recovered,” said Mandi DC Apoorv Devgan.
The tragedy is part of the larger monsoon havoc across northern India. Torrential rains have triggered landslides, flash floods, and road blockages, severely affecting Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Uttarakhand.
According to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), since June 20, Himachal Pradesh has recorded 340 deaths—182 from rain-related incidents like landslides, flash floods, and house collapses, and 158 from road accidents.
Authorities, along with central and state forces, continue round-the-clock rescue and relief operations as swollen rivers and blocked roads pose challenges to restoring normalcy.