Heavy rains lashed many parts of Himachal Pradesh as southwest monsoon hit the state on Saturday, triggering landslides, blocking roads, damaging vehicles, disrupting water supply and leading to cancellation of trains on the Shimla-Kalka narrow gauge section.
All seven trains were cancelled, as the Kalka-Shimla heritage line was obstructed at several places between Kaithlighat and Dharampur due to landslides following heavy rains, station master Joginder Singh said, adding that the track would be restored by late evening.
About 300 goats perished and more than 50 sustained injuries in an avalanche in the higher reaches of Chamba district.
Gushing waters swept debris and stones in Shimla town damaging house and some vehicles parked on the roadside.
Officials from the Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Limited said water supply will be hit for the next few days due to heavy silt load in the water sources and have requested the citizens to use water judiciously
Several parts of the state received moderate to very heavy rain from Friday, with MeT officials saying heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur in Sirmaur, Solan, Shimla, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur, Mandi and Kangra districts over the next few days.
The Met Office has issued “orange” warning indicating heavy to very heavy rain, thunderstorm, and lightning at isolated places on June 25 and 26 and “yellow” warning indicating thunderstorm and lightning on June 27 and 28.
{{/usCountry}}The Met Office has issued “orange” warning indicating heavy to very heavy rain, thunderstorm, and lightning at isolated places on June 25 and 26 and “yellow” warning indicating thunderstorm and lightning on June 27 and 28.
{{/usCountry}}Kataula in Mandi district was the wettest with 163.3 mm of rain, followed by Sinhuta 160 mm, Kasauli 145 mm and Kangra 143.5 mm.
Shimla received 99.2 mm of rain, followed by Gohar 81 mm, Jubbarhatti 76.5 mm, Pandoh 74 mm, Sundernagar 70 mm, Pachhad 65.2 mm, Mandi 58.5 mm, Kufri 58 mm, Mashobra 52 mm, Dhaulakaun 48.5 mm, Dharamshala 47 mm, Solan 44 mm and Nahan 39 mm.
Heavy rains triggered landslides at several places and 20 roads, including a section of the National Highway-5 near Theog in Shimla, were blocked, according to the state emergency operation centre.
A house was completely damaged in the Krishna Nagar area in the heart of Shimla. The incident occurred around 4 am on Saturday.
However, no casualty was reported, officials said.
Turbidity increases during the rainy season which can interfere with disinfection, allowing harmful bacteria, viruses and parasites to grow. Therefore, the general public has been asked to drink water after boiling it for 10 minutes to avoid jaundice, cholera and other gastrointestinal illnesses, they said.
The weather department has advised to arrange for a drainage facility and avoid irrigation during spells of heavy rainfall and cautioned that damage may occur to standing crops, fruit plants and seedlings.
Srinagar Relief from the heat wave in Jammu and Kashmir is on the cards from Monday, as the temperatures are running 4 to 7°C above normal, said the meteorological department on Saturday.
The night temperatures were running above normal across the region. The summer capital Srinagar recorded 22.4°C, some 6.6°C above normal during the previous night.
In south Kashmir’s Pahalgam, the minimum temperature was 13.3°C while in the northern resort of Gulmarg recorded a low of 14.4°C.
On Friday, the day temperature in Srinagar reached 35°C. In Jammu, the MeT had recorded 38.4°C.
However, the MeT said it expects an improvement in heatwave conditions with rains expected from Sunday.
“Respite from the heatwave in J&K is very likely from June 26 onwards, as intermittent rain and thunderstorm is expected from June 25 evening till June 28,” said director MeT Sonam Lotus in an update.
Some places of J&K may receive heavy rain/thunderstorm and lighting during the period. Lotus said on Friday the day temperatures were appreciably above normal in the Kashmir division, leading to the heatwave whereas temperatures were normal in the Jammu region.
Owing to the hot weather conditions, the Jammu and Kashmir educational authorities on Saturday announced summer break for the schools of Kashmir valley from July 1.
An order by school education department asked all the government and private schools of Kashmir division to observe a 10-day summer vacation.
“All the government educational institutions and recognised private schools up to higher secondary level, functioning in Kashmir division shall observe summer vacation from July 1 to July 10, “ the order said.