Rains continue in Himachal; red alert in 3 districts, Sukhu says 'we are ready'

Shimla: The district administrations of Kangra, Mandi and Sirmaur have been put on alert following a warning for very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in these districts on Sunday.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday said the state government was prepared to deal with the situation. "We are ready," he said.

According to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), the estimated losses due to the rains so far stand at around Rs 566 crore, though the chief minister maintained the figure was close to Rs 700 crore as data was still being compiled.

The local MeT office has issued a red alert for very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in Kangra, Sirmaur and Mandi districts on Sunday. An orange warning has been issued for heavy to very heavy rainfall in seven other districts, excluding the tribal districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti.

Reports of damage to link roads and small bridges being washed away following a cloudburst in the Swad nallah (drain) in Shilbhadani village of the Padhar area in Mandi district have been received. However, no loss of life has been reported so far.

Since the onset of the monsoon on June 20, the state has reported 74 deaths, of which 47 were linked to rain-related incidents such as cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides. As many as 115 people have sustained injuries so far.

Rains have continued in several parts of the state since Saturday evening. Nagrota Suriyan recorded 102.4 mm of rainfall, followed by Una (67.2 mm), Guler (62.4 mm), Dharamshala (61.1 mm), Kataula (40.3 mm), Ghamroor (40 mm), Berthin (38.4 mm), Sujanpur Tira (36 mm), Barari (35.6 mm), Nadaun (30 mm), Kahu (22.2 mm) and Mandi (21.2 mm).

The MeT department has warned of moderate to high flash flood risk in parts of Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts over the next 24 hours. It also cautioned against possible landslides, flash floods, waterlogging, and damage to vulnerable structures, crops and essential services. People have been advised to stay away from water bodies and avoid vulnerable areas.

Meanwhile, the search for 31 missing persons is underway in Mandi district, which bore the brunt of destruction following 10 cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides on Tuesday. Fourteen bodies have been recovered so far, officials said, adding that sniffer dogs and modern technology have been deployed in the operation.

A total of 258 transformers and 278 water supply schemes have been affected, the SEOC said.