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IMD sounds orange alert for heavy rain in 5 Himachal districts for August 13
According to MeT department officials, light to moderate rainfall is very likely at most places till August 15 in the state and at many places on August 16 and 17
The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Shimla office has predicted heavy rainfall spells to continue in parts of Himachal till August 18.
According to MeT department officials, light to moderate rainfall is very likely at most places till August 15 in the state and at many places on August 16 and 17. Also, very heavy rain is expected at isolated places till August 14, while one of two spells of heavy rain is likely till August 18.
The weather office has sounded an orange alert of heavy rainfall on August 13 and 14 in Bilaspur, Kangra, Mandi, Shimla and Sirmaur districts with a yellow alert in Una, Hamirpur, Chamba, Kullu and Solan districts. For August 15, a yellow alert of heavy rainfall has been sounded in Una, Chamba, Kangra, Mandi Shimla and Sirmaur districts.
During the last 24 hours, the monsoon was active over the state. While light to moderate rain was observed at most places, heavy to very heavy rain was observed at isolated places during this period.
332 roads blocked
As heavy rainfall continues to batter parts of Himachal, as many as 332 roads, including two national highway, remain blocked in the state on Tuesday – with 192 of them in Mandi district alone.
The Chamba-Pathankot highway caved in near Dunera, leading to closure of the road.
In state capital Shimla, three to four vehicles were damaged by uprooted trees. Around half-a-dozen trees fell in the Tutikandi area, while an uprooted tree damaged the roof of a building in Vikas Nagar, officials said.
The Mandi-Kullu stretch which was blocked near Kainchi Mod and Jogni Mata temple due to landslides on Monday night, was restored for traffic on Tuesday morning. Police officials said that one-way traffic is being regulated at the 9-mile mark, Kainchi Mod, Dwada and Jhalogi.
Meanwhile, NH-707 was also blocked on Tuesday morning near Shillai towards Ronhat in Sirmaur districts.
In Kullu district, where 73 roads remain blocked, a stretch of National Highway (NH-305) is blocked at Jhed (Khanag) due to a landslide. Lari to Stickling stretch of NH-505 also remained blocked in Lahual-Spiti district. While 25 roads were blocked in Kangra, 15 roads remained blocked in Chamba district.
Since the onset of the monsoon in Himachal on June 20, as many as 240 people have lost their lives so far. This includes 125 deaths due to rain-related incidents such as landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts, and drowning, while 115 people have died in road accidents. More than 2,000 houses have been either partially or completely damaged. The cumulative losses in the state during the monsoon season have so far amounted to around ₹2,000 crore.
The highest rainfall of 18 cm was recorded in Nagrota Surian, followed by Guler (16 cm), Ghamroor (11 cm), Nadaun (8 cm), Dehra Gopipur (8 cm), Jogindarnagar (7 cm), Bharari (7 cm), Palampur (7 cm), Kandaghat (5 cm), Chuari (5 cm), Simla (5 cm), Dharmshala (4 cm), Mandi (4 cm), Una (4 cm), Kasauli (4 cm), Kahu (3 cm), Solan (3 cm), Pandoh (3 cm), Sundarnagar (3 cm), Kotkhai (2 cm), Pachhad (2 cm), Bilaspur Sadar (2 cm), Kothi (2 cm), Nahan (2 cm), Manali (1 cm), Sangla (1 cm), Paonta (1 cm) and Banjar (1 cm).
Kinnaur-Kailash Yatra to resume today
Halted after inclement weather, the Kinnaur Kailash Yatra-2025 is set to resume from August 13. Giving information, Kalpa sub-divisional magistrate Amit Kalthaik on Tuesday said that the yatra will be restarted from August 13. He added that on August 13 and August 14, there will only be offline registration.
Education minister visits disaster-affected Seraj
Himachal education minister Rohit Thakur on Tuesday visited the disaster-affected Seraj area in Mandi district and inspected several damaged educational institutions.
He said that 523 educational institutions have been damaged in the recent disaster in the entire state, out of which 109 have been completely destroyed. 29 institutions are affected in Mandi district alone, and 22 of these are in Seraj. The education minister said that a provision of ₹16 crore has been made in the first phase for these 109 completely damaged schools. Reconstruction work will start as soon as the rains end, for which HIMUDA has been given the responsibility.
The education minister informed that Himachal has suffered a loss of about ₹2,000 crore due to the recent disaster, in which the loss to educational institutions has been estimated to be ₹30 crore. For the construction of the security wall of Lambathach Degree College, an arrangement of about ₹6 crore will be made either under the World Bank project or in the next financial year.
He said that the completely damaged schools located within a radius of one kilometer will be accommodated in nearby safe schools
