Munish Sood
Mandi: In a chilling display of nature’s fury and human resilience in Himachal Pradesh, a video of a woman’s miraculous escape during the Mandi flash flood has gone viral, capturing the dramatic moments when locals battled pitch darkness, rising waters and debris to save lives.
The video, shot in the dead of night, shows residents smashing windows and pulling out trapped people, an act that turned into a symbol of hope amidst chaos.
The flash flood, triggered by a cloudburst over Mandi’s Jail Road area, has claimed three lives, with several still missing. But among the devastation, this rescue footage from Tungol Colony stands out, a story of quick thinking, community spirit and courage under pressure.
Mobile light, hammer blows and a mother’s courage
The viral video shows residents breaking a window with a hammer and using a small torchlight to locate survivors stuck inside a flooded house. Inside the building, on the first floor, a woman and her child were trapped, unable to get out as water and mud surged through their home.
Neighbors climbed onto walls, held onto railings and passed down a ladder to help the mother and child escape through the narrow opening. Despite waist-deep sludge and relentless rainfall, the rescuers risked their own lives to pull out three people from the flooded building.
Eyewitnesses say there was no power, no clear visibility and the water level was rising rapidly. “We had nothing but a phone torch to see what was happening inside. All we could hear were cries for help,” said one local involved in the rescue.
Cloudburst triggers havoc: Roads blocked, vehicles damaged
The flash flood was the result of a violent cloudburst late Monday (July 28, 2025) night, which caused a nearby drain to overflow, sending a torrent of water and debris into the Jail Road and adjoining Tungol Colony. Over 50 parked vehicles were damaged, with many swept off roads or buried under mud.
Three persons, including a child, lost their lives in the same locality, and another remains missing. The sudden surge of water inundated homes within minutes, leaving little time to react.
Mandi SP Sakshi Verma confirmed the death toll had risen to three, with rescue teams still searching for one missing woman. “Flash floods brought massive debris down from the upper areas, leading to rapid flooding. We have deployed NDRF and police units for relief work,” she said.
