Orange warning for heavy rain in Himachal; 360 roads closed

Shimla | The MeT office on Sunday issued an orange warning for heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh for four days, from Monday to Thursday.

According to the MeT Centre in Shimla, light to moderate rainfall continued to lash parts of the state. Kangra received 68.4 mm of rain since Saturday night, followed by Murari Devi (52.6 mm), Palampur (52 mm), Sarahan (25 mm), Jubbarhatti (17 mm), Dharamshala (16.8 mm), Pandoh and Bajura (11.5 mm each), Kufri (11.2 mm), Bilaspur (10.4 mm), and Kasauli (10 mm).

A total of 360 roads, including the Aut-Sainj road, part of NH-305, were closed for vehicular traffic. Of these, 214 were blocked in Mandi district and 92 in the adjoining Kullu district on Sunday, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).

So far, 112 people have died in rain-related incidents this monsoon, while 37 remain missing. In addition, 145 power transformers and 520 water supply schemes have been affected, the SEOC said.

Since the onset of the monsoon on June 20, Himachal Pradesh has reported losses amounting to Rs 1,988 crore. The state has witnessed 58 flash floods, 30 cloudbursts, and 53 major landslides so far.

During the ongoing monsoon season, the state has received 507.3 mm of rainfall against a normal of 445.5 mm — an excess of 11 per cent from June 1 to August 10, the MeT office said.