Himachal Monsoon: 296 dead in 74 days, state suffers Rs 1,662 crore loss
PWD Damage Crosses Rs 1,231 Crore
Babushahi Bureau
Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), September 12, 2026: Himachal Pradesh has reported cumulative losses of Rs 1,661.97 crore during the 2026 monsoon season, with the Public Works Department (PWD) accounting for nearly three-fourths of the total damage, according to the latest State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) report.
The assessment covers the 74-day period from June 30 to September 11, during which heavy rain, landslides, flash floods and other weather-related incidents affected several parts of the state.
A total of 296 people lost their lives during the period. Of these, 119 deaths were attributed directly to natural disasters and weather-related incidents, while 177 people died in road accidents. Another 520 people were injured.
The disasters also resulted in the deaths of 521 domestic animals and 521 poultry birds, the report said.
The PWD suffered the highest losses at Rs 1,231.59 crore, according to the SEOC. The Power Department was the second-worst affected, reporting losses of Rs 368.68 crore.
Other departments also reported significant damage, including Agriculture (Rs 21.50 crore), Horticulture (Rs 12.27 crore), Rural Development (Rs 9.92 crore) and Animal Husbandry (Rs 2.14 crore).
However, PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh said the department’s overall damage assessment had risen to around Rs 1,500-1,600 crore, indicating that the assessment was still being updated.
Singh said roads had been damaged at several locations, retaining walls had collapsed and bridges had been washed away, although the scale of destruction was lower than in 2023 and 2024, when losses had reached around Rs 10,000 crore.
As of the morning of September 12, 67 roads remained blocked across Himachal Pradesh. Mandi had the highest number of blocked roads at 36, followed by Kullu with 11 and Kangra with 10.
Power supply was also disrupted in 142 Distribution Transformer Regions (DTRs), with Mandi accounting for 92 affected transformers, followed by Shimla with 34 and Kullu with 16. No disruption to water supply schemes was reported.
Singh said restoration of damaged roads was underway and the government planned large-scale road surfacing after the monsoon.
Around 800 km of roads are expected to undergo metallic tarring from October, with work planned in different parts of the state. Some road works postponed earlier due to crude oil prices will also be taken up in October and November.