Heavy Rain Likely to Continue in Himachal; Yellow Alert Issued for Five Districts

Himachal Pradesh is expected to witness continued heavy rainfall, with the state meteorological department issuing a yellow alert for Shimla, Kangra, Mandi, Solan, and Sirmaur districts on September 5. According to the forecast, light to moderate rain is likely to persist across the state until September 10.

Relentless downpours have left a trail of disruptions across Himachal, with 1,212 roads, including four national highways, blocked for vehicular movement.

As per the State Emergency Operations Centre, major closures include 288 roads in Mandi (including NH-03), 231 in Kullu (including NH-305), 211 in Shimla, 192 in Chamba, 78 in Sirmaur, 56 in Solan, 48 in Lahaul & Spiti (including NH-505), 41 in Kangra, 39 in Una, 15 in Bilaspur, nine in Kinnaur (including NH-05), and four in Hamirpur.

The weather havoc has also disrupted power supply, with about 1,885 distribution transformers rendered non-functional: 999 in Kullu, 307 in Mandi, 259 in Shimla, 136 in Solan, 130 in Sirmaur, 40 in Lahaul & Spiti, six in Kinnaur, five in Chamba, and three in Una.

Water supply has been hit as well. A total of 824 drinking water schemes stand affected, including 348 in Shimla, 187 in Chamba, 93 in Sirmaur, 78 in Mandi, 63 in Kullu, 19 in Kangra, and 18 each in Solan and Hamirpur.

In the past 24 hours alone, several parts of the state recorded heavy rainfall. Dharampur in Solan received 74.6 mm, followed by 69 mm in Karsog (Mandi), 67 mm in Kasauli, 58.6 mm in Naina Devi (Bilaspur), 55.6 mm in Bhuntar, 50.8 mm in Bilaspur, 47 mm in Shimla, 44.4 mm in Solan, 44 mm in Manali, 43.6 mm in Kufri, 30 mm in Rampur Bushahr, 28.3 mm in Sundernagar, and 27.4 mm in Mandi town. Other significant readings included 21.8 mm in Nahan, 10 mm in Keylong, 9.8 mm in Kalpa, and 2.4 mm in Dharamshala.