India News | Himachal: MeT Issues 'orange' Alert of Very Heavy Rains on Wednesday; 75 Roads Closed

Shimla, Aug 5 (PTI) The meteorological centre here has issued an 'orange' alert of heavy to very heavy rains, thunderstorm and lightning at isolated places in Una, Kangra and Sirmaur districts of Himachal Pardesh on Wednesday and 'yellow' alert for heavy rain at isolated places in the state till August 9.

Flash floods and landslides triggered by days of heavy rains led to the closure of 75 roads in different parts of Himachal, the state emergency operation centre said on Monday evening.

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The hill state has been pummelled by heavy rains for almost a week.

Fourteen people died in flash floods triggered by cloudbursts in Kullu, Mandi and Shimla districts on July 31 and 40 are still missing.

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Thirty roads were closed in Kullu, 17 in Mandi, 10 in Lahaul and Spiti, six in kangra, five in Sirmaur, and two each in Sirmaur and Kinnaur on Monday evening, the emergency response centre said.

A total of 68 transformers and 58 water supply schemes have been affected in the state, the centre added.

Low flood risk is likely in isolated parts of Kangra, Sirmaur, Chamba, Shimla and Mandi districts in the next 24 hours, the MeT said.

With the Chandrabhaga river in spate, the deputy head of Tadang village in Lahaul and Spiti was informed and residents were asked to move to Junda village, officials said.

Hamirpur has received the highest rainfall of 73 mm since Sunday evening, followed by 44 mm in Aghar, 42 mm in Jogindernagar, 38 mm in Nadaun, 32.3 mm in Dehra Gopipur, 28 mm in Palampur and 27.5 mm each in Dhaula Kuan and Nahan.

Intermittent rains continued in parts of the state.

The MeT also warned about the possibility of landslides and flash floods in vulnerable areas and damage to plantations and standing crops, vulnerable structures and 'kutcha' houses due to strong winds and waterlogging in low-lying areas.

According to officials, 87 people were killed in rain-related incidents between June 27 and August 5 and the state suffered losses amounting to Rs 684 crore.

Over 200 houses have been completely or partially damaged and the road infrastructure has got a major hit with the Public Work Department suffering maximum losses of Rs 268 crore followed by Jal Shati Department Rs 263 crore during the ongoing monsoon season.

Kukumseri in Lahaul and Spiti was the coldest at night recording a low of 11.7 degrees Celsius while Una was the hottest during the day recording a high of 36.2 degrees Celsius.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)