Himachal rains: Five dead in landslides, fresh red alert of extremely heavy rainfall issued for 10 districts

Himachal weather update:  Heavy rainfall continues to batter Himachal Pradesh on Sunday. Five people have been killed after heavy rains pounded the hilly state, triggering landslides and flash floods. The rain has damaged several houses and paralysed normal life.

All major rivers are in spate in the state, officials said. They added the local met office had issued a fresh red alert of extremely heavy rains (above 204 mm) in ten out of 12 districts, barring tribal districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti, on July 9.  Fourteen major landslides and 13 flash floods have been reported in the past 36 hours while over 700 roads have been closed, according to the state emergency operation centre.

Deputy Commissioner of Kullu Ashutosh Garg said the Kullu-Manali road is blocked at several places due to landslides. Beas River is in spate near Ramshela and traffic has been halted from Kullu to Manali and Manali to Atal Tunnel.

He said landslides have also occurred on Mandi-Kullu road and only emergency vehicles are allowed on this stretch. The administration has asked the tourists and residents to avoid venturing out in heavy rains. Reports of shops being swept away in Manali, vehicles being washed away in flash floods at Nullah in Kullu, Kinnaur and Chamba and loss to agricultural land have also poured in. Several roads have also been closed in Shimla districts. The local met office has cautioned of high flash flood risk over a few watersheds in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Shimla, Sirmaur and Mandi districts.

Himachal Pradesh: Mandi-Kullu National Highway closed due to landslides and rock-slides from mountains near Shani Mandir Aut. Mandi-Kullu road via Kataul closed due to landslides. Pandoh-Gohar-Chalchowk-Baggy-Sundernagar road open but heavy-vehicular movement restricted: Mandi… pic.twitter.com/9RRiRDHQs1

— ANI (@ANI) July 9, 2023

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed his condolences and said that the district administration has been directed to provide immediate relief to the affected families. As many as 200 persons were stranded in Chandratal in Lahaul and Spiti. Superintendent of Police Mayank Chaudhary, who is on the spot, said that all the people are safe and food and essential medicines have been arranged. They would be rescued in 1-2 days as the road is restored, he said.

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The Himachal Pradesh Government has closed all the government and private schools and colleges affiliated with the state for two days (July 10 and 11). As many as 736 roads have been closed for traffic while 1,743 transformers and 138 water supply schemes were affected on Sunday morning. The national highways blocked included NH-21 Mandi to Kullu, NH-505 Gramphu to Locar, NH-03 Kullu to Manali, NH-305 Aut to Jalori and NH-707 Rohru to Poanta Sahib near Shillai in Sirmaur district.

National Highway 21 is blocked at 6 Mile (name of the place). This is the same place where the commuters were struck for almost 24 hours on June 27 last due to a landslide. Mandi-Kullu road via Kamand was also blocked near Ghoda farm. The Manali-Chandigarh also caved in near Manali. All the major rivers, including Ravi, Beas, Satluj, Swan and Chenab, are in spate and tourists and commuters have been asked to avoid travelling during heavy rains and not to venture out near river bodies.