Heavy rain lash Himachal, landslides bury vehicles, block over 100 roads
Moderate to heavy rain affected several parts of Himachal Pradesh, including Shimla, on Monday evening, with landslides and flash floods disrupting roads, water supply schemes
Moderate to heavy rain affected several parts of Himachal Pradesh, including Shimla, on Monday evening, with landslides and flash floods disrupting roads, water supply schemes and power infrastructure. In Chamba district, landslides caused major damage, burying about a dozen vehicles under debris and affecting homes in residential areas. The state emergency operation centre said 108 roads were closed due to landslides and flash floods, while 38 water supply schemes and nine transformers were disrupted. Read Full Story The Meteorological Department on Tuesday warned of a moderate flash-flood threat in a few watersheds and neighbourhoods of Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur and Solan over the next 24 hours. The Shimla Met office also issued an orange warning for heavy to very heavy rain in isolated parts of four to five districts till July 30 and again on August 3.
The department said inundation may occur in fully saturated soils and low-lying areas, and advised people to avoid going near rivers and streams and to follow weather warnings. Scientist Sandeep Kumar Sharma of the Meteorological Centre, Shimla, said peak rainfall activity would be seen between late on July 29 and July 31, when many areas are likely to get continuous light to moderate rain, with heavy to very heavy rainfall at some places. In Bhariad village in Chamba, several families had to leave their homes after seasonal rivulets suddenly changed course. Streams and drains overflowed due to the downpour. Reports said around a dozen vehicles, including cars, trucks and two-wheelers, were buried under debris after a landslide near Bhariad on the Udaipur-Golthi-Navodaya road.
Landslides dumped large quantities of debris on roads and in residential areas. Boulders carried by the strong current of the Tadoli Nallah entered a store and completely destroyed it. Debris also entered several nearby homes, while the Sultanpur Nallah turned ferocious, adding to the difficulties of residents. Rain remained active in many parts of the state over the last 24 hours. Jot in Chamba recorded 137.8 mm of rain, followed by Naina Devi 118 mm, Murari Devi 83 mm, Ghamroor and Shimla 58.2 mm each, Brahmani 54.6 mm, Joggindenagar 52 mm, Malraon 47 mm, Olinda 44 mm, Hamirpur 43 mm and Nagrota Suriyan 42.2 mm. In Shimla, the Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Limited said water supply could remain affected for the next few days because of transformer failure at stage-2 of the Satluj Water Supply Project, along with heavy silt and flooding at other water sources.
The BriefWire