The Mandi Floods
Vengeance of the Forest
A series of cloudbursts and heavy rainfall caused flash floods in and around the town of Mandi in Himachal Pradesh in July. Many people have been reported missing in the area, with homes, roads, bridges, and other utilities being washed away by multiple cloudbursts and flash floods. But it is not the first time the state of Himachal Pradesh has seen devastating floods due to heavy rainfall. This scenario repeated itself before in 2023 and 2024, and after this year, having the same effects, it seems it has become an annual occurrence.
But why have the mountainous rivers suddenly become so hostile?
Rivers trace their own paths, and in a natural environment, they have the right of way. They have created their own channels, negotiating the twists and turns of the mountainous region for thousands of years, until we started terraforming the mountains to suit our own needs. We chose to subdue the river and the forests with a false sense of mastery over them.
In the last 10 years, forest cover has decreased around the town of Mandi by nearly 10%, while built area (buildings, structures and other utilities) has increased with a similar magnitude.
Several factors have contributed to the deforestation in the Mandi area. One of the primary causes is agriculture. Mandi is a producer of premium-quality apples. Environmentalists now fear that apple orchards are encroaching on the forested areas around Mandi. Also, it is clear from the data on the graph that Mandi is urbanising at a rapid pace, which coincidentally mirrors the decline of tree cover. Influx of tourists, both Indian and foreign, has led prospective entrepreneurs to set up businesses and tourist accommodation on real estate that was either rangeland or tree cover in the past.
The time-lapse video above depicts the loss of tree cover around Mandi from 2017 to 2024. The red areas are built-up areas, signifying concrete structures like houses, hotels and other infrastructure. The green areas depict the tree cover, and the yellow ones are the rangelands.
Though the localised precipitation in July 2025 in Himachal Pradesh has been unprecedented, the altered hydrology of the state from the construction of highways and dams has exacerbated the situation. Urban and semi-urban areas around Mandi have converted riverbanks and run-off areas into housing and commercial development projects.
Only the expansion of the riparian run-off zones and the reforestation of the slopes might mitigate the immediate risks, but a long-term solution to restore the ecological balance is necessary.