Landslide in Northern India Claims at Least 15 Lives, Including Children
A landslide triggered by heavy rainfall struck a bus in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people and injuring three children, police reported. The victims included nine men, four women, and two children who were traveling on the bus when the disaster occurred.
The incident underscores the increasing vulnerability of South Asia to extreme whether events, exacerbated by climate change. This year’s unusually intense monsoon season has brought widespread flooding and landslides across the region, impacting millions and raising concerns about infrastructure stability and disaster preparedness. Rescue operations are ongoing to locate any remaining passengers believed to be missing.
Authorities confirmed that three injured children were rescued from the wreckage and are receiving treatment at a local hospital, according to a statement from the office of Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the state’s highest-elected official. Rescue teams continue to search for other passengers who are presumed dead.
Intermittent rains since Monday have saturated the fragile mountain slopes in the region, contributing to the landslide. President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed their condolences.
The disaster is part of a broader pattern of extreme weather events across South Asia this year. In August,flash floods washed away an entire village in India’s Uttarakhand state,and Nepal reported at least 44 deaths over the weekend due to mudslides and flooding. The weekend’s heavy rainfall occurred near the end of Nepal’s monsoon season,which typically runs from June to mid-September,and disrupted domestic flights in Kathmandu.
Experts attribute the increasing intensity of South Asia’s monsoons to human-caused climate change, which is causing more erratic rainfall patterns – extreme downpours followed by prolonged dry spells – disrupting traditional agricultural cycles and increasing the risk of natural disasters. The monsoon season traditionally runs from June to September and again from October to December. Affected countries include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, maldives, and Nepal.
