Flash floods damage vehicles in Kullu; 'yellow' alert issued for 12 Himachal districts on May 27, 28

Shimla: Around 20 to 25 vehicles parked on the roadside were damaged in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district on Saturday evening following flash floods triggered by heavy rains, officials said.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Nirmand Manmohan Singh said no casualties have been reported in the incident.

He said heavy rains triggered flash floods in the dry Sharshaya Nallah, damaging around 20-25 vehicles near Jagat Khana in Nirmand.

Videos of vehicles being swept away by the floods and debris are circulating on social media. The level of the Satluj River has also risen. While locals claimed the incident was caused by a cloudburst, the administration attributed it to heavy rains.

The local meteorological centre issued a 'yellow' warning for thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and gusty winds at speeds of 40 to 50 kilometre per hour (kmph) in all 12 districts on May 27 and 28.

The warning has been issued for Sirmaur, Solan, Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Kangra, and Chamba districts on May 25 and 26, the centre said.

A wet spell has been forecast for the next six days, though the weather remained mostly dry on Saturday.

The Met office also predicted light rainfall at a few places in higher hills and light to moderate rain at many places in mid-hills and plains on May 27 and 28. L Light rain at isolated places in higher hills and at a few places in mid-hills and plains is expected on May 25, it added.

Rohru received 10 mm rainfall, followed by 2.6 mm in Jubbarhatti, 2.4 mm in Jubbal, and 2 mm in Chamba . Gusty winds with speeds between 37 and 56 kmph were recorded in Reckongpeo, Tabo, Kotkhai, Bahaura, Seobag, and Narkanda, the office said.

There was no significant change in minimum and maximum temperatures, with Una recording the highest temperature in the state at 39.2 degrees Celsius and Keylong the lowest at 7.3 degrees Celsius.