362 roads closed in Himachal due to landslides, flash floods; orange alert in 4 districts

Shimla: Heavy rains lashed Himachal Pradesh in the last few days, triggering several cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides, leading to the closure of 362 roads for vehicular traffic, officials said on Saturday.

Of these, 220 roads were blocked in Mandi district, and 91 in the adjoining Kullu district on Saturday, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).

The Met office in Shimla has issued a yellow warning for heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places in the state on Sunday, and an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rain in two to four districts from Monday to Wednesday.

Light to moderate rain lashed a few parts of the state on Saturday, with Naini Devi receiving 112.4 mm rainfall, followed by Pandoh 102 mm, Raipur Maidan 74.6 mm, Pachhad 67 mm, Narkanda 66.5 mm, Kufri 65.7 mm, Kasauli 65.5 mm, Nahan 49.3 mm, and Solan 45.6 mm, the Met office said.

Sundernagar, Murari Devi, Kangra, Bhuntar, Shimla, Jubbarhatti and Jot witnessed thunderstorms, while Seobagh and Dhaulakuan were lashed by gusty winds with wind speed ranging from 46-50 kmph, it said.

As many as 112 people have died in rain-related incidents in the state this monsoon season, while 37 are missing. Additionally, 704 transformers and 178 water supply schemes have been affected, the SEOC said.

Since the onset of monsoon on June 20, Himachal Pradesh has incurred losses totalling Rs 1,988 crore.

The state has witnessed 58 flash floods, 30 cloudbursts and 53 major landslides.

The state received 503 mm of rain against the normal rainfall of 445.7 mm from June 1 till August 9, an excess of 13 per cent, the Met said.