Wooden bridge washed away in Manali flash floods, property suffers damages

The flooding water swept away a wooden bridge connecting Solang village in Manali; besides, a restaurant, some temporary shops and vehicles were also damaged due to the flash floods

Heavy rains and flash floods wreaked havoc in Manali in Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti districts on Monday causing widespread damages to the public and private property.

Flash floods lead to heavy damages for property in Solang Nullah, Manali, Himachal Pardesh. (Aqil Khan/HT )

Director of State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said a cloudburst near Palchan in Manali triggered a flash flood in the Seri Nullah in the wee hours which caused sudden rise in the water level in Beas River.

The flooding water swept away a wooden bridge connecting Solang village. Besides, a restaurant, some temporary shops and vehicles were also damaged due to the flood. However, no loss of life has been reported in the incident.

Manali sub divisional officer Surender Thakur said the losses were being assessed.

Rain brings life to halt in Lahaul-Spiti

In Lahaul-Spiti, daily life was hit due to heavy rains. The Manali-Leh highway was closed for nearly five hours after a flash flood in Telling Nullah. The road has since been restored for traffic by the Border Roads Organisation.

Meanwhile, Himachal experienced heavy rains on Sunday night and Monday. Shilaru was the wettest place, recording 46mm rainfall followed by 35mm in Narkanda and 33.7mm in Sundernagar.

Shimla MeT centre director Surender Paul said there is a yellow alert for heavy to very heavy rains, thunderstorms and lightning on 26 and 27 July and orange alert on 28 and 29 July.

The heavy rains may hit the essential services including water, electricity and communications besides triggering landslides and flash floods. Commuters were also advised to avoid non-essential travel and keep a tab on local weather updates if necessary.