Harsh weather conditions continue in Himachal Pradesh. Due to the activity of monsoon, clouds are raining in different parts of the state. It has been raining in Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Una, Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Chamba districts since Friday morning, while Shimla and Solan are cloudy. Heavy rains occurred at some places on Thursday night. The Meteorological Department (IMD) has also warned of heavy rains in some places in the next 24 hours. Along with this, the danger of flash floods has been feared in 5 districts. Yellow alert of flash flood has been issued in Shimla, Sirmaur, Solan, Mandi and Bilaspur districts. IMD has advised people in these districts to remain alert till Saturday and take precautions while going out of their homes. People have been instructed not to travel to landslide prone areas and to stay away from rivers and streams. The weather is expected to remain bad in the state till September 12.
According to the Meteorological Department, from Thursday evening to Friday morning, the highest rainfall of 158 mm was recorded in Naina Devi of Bilaspur district. Apart from this, 69 mm rainfall was recorded in Olinda, 64 mm in Dehra Gopipur, 57 mm in RL BBMB, 55 mm in Dharamshala and 32 mm in Palampur.
Traffic stopped on 40 roads due to landslides
According to the State Emergency Operations Centre, 40 roads remained blocked due to landslides in the state till Friday morning. 16 roads are closed in Mandi district, 10 in Kangra, nine in Shimla and two in Kullu. Apart from this, 26 transformers in Chamba and six in Kullu are also damaged.
Monsoon caused loss of Rs 1330 crore
Monsoon arrived in Himachal Pradesh on 27th June. Monsoon has caused massive destruction in the last 71 days. According to the report of the State Emergency Operations Centre, the loss to movable and immovable property across the state has been estimated to be Rs. 1330 crores during this period. The Public Works Department suffered a loss of Rs. 617 crores due to damage to roads and bridges, while the Jal Shakti Department suffered a loss of Rs. 507 crores. During this period, 180 houses, 58 shops and 482 cattle sheds were completely destroyed, while 510 houses were partially damaged. During the monsoon, 285 people were killed and 30 are missing in rain-related accidents, while 441 people were injured. 322 cattle have also lost their lives in monsoon accidents.
In the 71 days of the monsoon season, cloudburst, flood and landslide incidents occurred at 91 places. These include 51 incidents of cloudburst and flood and 41 incidents of landslide. On the midnight of 31st July, cloudburst caused massive destruction in Shimla, Kullu and Mandi districts. The flood wiped out Samej village of Shimla district. 36 people of the village went missing. In this heart-wrenching accident, bodies of 21 have been recovered and 15 are still missing.
