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Monsoon bids adieu to Himachal, leaves behind mountain of losses
Himachal Pradesh suffered monsoon losses to the tune of ₹2,200 crore despite the rainfall being 2% below normal
As the Southwest Monsoon fully retreated from Himachal, it left behind below-normal rainfall and a trail of destruction with the hill state suffering losses to the tune of ₹2,200 crore.
Monsoon usually lasts four months, from June to September, and could extend up to October.
It withdrew from Himachal Pradesh on October 3 and the state now enters post-monsoon phase which will continue till November 15 till the onset of winters, said Shimla Meteorological Centre director Surender Paul.
The monsoon had hit Himachal on June 29 this year.
The state recorded 716.7mm of rainfall during this monsoon season— 2% below normal long period average (LPA) of 734.4mm.
Last year, the monsoon had withdrawn on October 8 with the state recording 12% below average rainfall.
Shimla district experienced highest 898.6mm rainfall this season which was at least 42% above normal.
Kullu saw 36% excess rainfall and Bilaspur 15%. Lahaul and Spiti recorded least 163.3mm rainfall — 56% below normal, while Una saw 22% deficient rainfall and Kinnaur 10% deficit.
Excess rainfall was recorded in September, except in Lahaul and Spiti, Mandi and Chamba.
The state saw 34% less than normal rainfall in June and 4% less in August whereas in July it was 4% above normal.
Cloudbursts, flash floods batter state
The monsoon season this year left behind a trail of death and destruction as the hill state was battered by multiple cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides.
Himachal’s monetary losses mounted to ₹2,191 crore at the end of the season, almost double than the last year and highest ever in the history, said Sudesh Kumar Mokhta, director, State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). As many as 431 human lives were lost.
In 2021, the monsoon losses in the hill state amounted to ₹1,151.72 crore.
Earlier, the 2018 monsoon season was the worst in terms of monetary losses when rain damages were estimated to be over ₹1,578 crore.
The state had suffered ₹1,202-crore loss in 2019 and ₹872 crore in 2020.
The public works department (PWD) was worst-hit with its monsoon damages amounting to ₹1,013 crore followed by the Jal Shakti department with ₹967-crore loss.
Mokhta said about 90 incidents of landslide, 69 flash floods and 14 cases of cloudbursts were reported in the state during monsoon.
Of the total causalities, 231 people died in road accidents, 28 in landslides and 10 in cloudbursts.
Forty people died due to drowning and rest due to various rain-related incidents while 15 people were still missing.
Maximum 73 deaths were reported from Shimla district, followed by 63 from Mandi, 48 from Sirmaur, 46 from Kullu, 45 from Una, 42 from Chamba and rest from remaining six districts.
Heavy rain forecast for October 6, 7
Meanwhile, the state MeT centre has predicted wet spell till coming Friday with a yellow alert for heavy rains and thunderstorm on October 6 and 7 across the state, excluding Una and Lahaul and Spiti districts.
The rain activity is attributed to retreating monsoon and a Western Disturbance prevailing over the region.
The higher reaches are likely to experience fresh snowfall. The heavy rainfall may disrupt essential services and also trigger landslides, said Paul.
