: With heavy rainfall expected in parts of Himachal Pradesh, the India meteorological department’s (IMD) Shimla office has sounded an alert for Saturday in Mandi, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts.
According to MeT department officials, light to moderate rainfall is very likely at many places on September 13, 14 and 18, while at a few places from September 15 to 17. Moreover, one or two spells of heavy rain is also expected on September 13 and 14.
The weather office has also sounded a yellow alert of heavy rainfall for September 14 as well in Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Sirmaur districts.
During the last 24 hours, the monsoon activity was normal in the state. While light to moderate rainfall was observed at a few places, heavy rainfall was observed at isolated places during this period.
The highest rainfall of 6 cm was recorded in Mandi, followed by Sundernagar (5 cm), Kangra Aero (4 cm), Jogindarnagar (3 cm), Dharamshala (2 cm), Kasauli (2 cm), Dharampur (1 cm), Bharari (1 cm) and Bilaspur Sadar (1 cm).
In the monsoon season, Himachal has received 43% excess rainfall so far with 967 mm actual rainfall against a normal of 678 mm. The highest excess rainfall of 110% has been recorded in Kullu district, followed by 105% excess rainfall recorded in Shimla district.
{{/usCountry}}In the monsoon season, Himachal has received 43% excess rainfall so far with 967 mm actual rainfall against a normal of 678 mm. The highest excess rainfall of 110% has been recorded in Kullu district, followed by 105% excess rainfall recorded in Shimla district.
{{/usCountry}}503 roads still blocked
Meanwhile, the rain-battered hill state is still struggling with road connectivity, with 503 roads including 3 national highways still blocked on Friday. It included 174 roads blocked in Kullu district, followed by 133 in Mandi, 48 in Shimla and 45 in Kangra district. In Kullu district, NH-305 and NH-03 continued to remain blocked on Friday, while NH-503 A remained blocked in Una district.
Since the onset of the monsoon in Himachal Pradesh on June 20, as many as 386 people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents. This includes 218 deaths due to landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts, and drowning, while 168 people have died in road accidents. More than 6,000 houses have either been partially or completely damaged so far.