Due to over-construction in the Himalayas, floods, cloudbursts, and landslides have become more frequent
As a land revenue official, Balaram Singh had spent a lifetime recording, mapping, and measuring lands in Mandi district of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
Over three decades, Singh had saved enough money to build a house and had the foresight to build it further away from river Beas that flows through Mandi. But in June this year, his village of Thunag, approximately 150 kilometres north of the state capital city Shimla, was engulfed by the river.
Six months later, it is still difficult for 72-year-old Singh to talk about that fateful day when his son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren were swept away by the raging Beas, heavy rains, and the landslides that followed. “I still find it difficult to understand what happened,” he told Mentality standing near his destroyed house.
According to the Himachal Pradesh Disaster Management Authority, a third of the total 173 people killed in the floods this June were from Mandi. Each of their families has a story of not just loss but of coping with the situation long after the tragic event.
“In Himachal, flood victims are increasingly exhibiting symptoms of post-traumatic stress,” said Guddo Sharma, a mental health professional. Frequent exposure to such climate-related catastrophes is gradually diminishing people’s long-term emotional resilience, he said in a phone interview.
Flooding, an annual certainty
In 2023, Shimla, Solan, and Bilaspur districts of Himachal Pradesh experienced erratic and heavy rainfall during the monsoons. In 2024, Kangra district faced the wrath of the rains. This year has been particularly trying for Mandi as rains triggered landslides killing three people even as late as September, long after monsoon season was to wane.
“Even after they have repaired their homes or properties, many still expect another disaster to happen to them,” said Sharma, explaining how this keeps many people nervous all the time.
Kamala Devi, 70, is like an industrious ant who never gives up. She built a house in Thunag of Mandi district about five years ago after a lifetime of saving up. The house was washed away by the Beas river a year later, she told Mentality while squatting in front of its remains. Irrepressible, she built another one immediately after, which was badly damaged by the flooding this year. Her resolve is slowly giving way now.
READ MORE: https://globalvoices.org/2026/01/04/victims-of-man-made-disasters-flood-affected-in-the-himalayas-struggle-to-make-sense-of-annual-floods-cloud-busts-and-landlines/
