Monsoon fury: Landslides, flash floods leave trail of destruction in Himachal Pradesh

Shops were washed away, buildings collapsed, highways were cut off and residential areas were inundated as heavy rain triggered fresh landslides and flash floods at several places in Himachal Pradesh, officials said on Tuesday.

No loss of life was reported in any of the incidents that have occurred since Monday night, they said.

The local meteorological office has issued a 'red' alert, warning of intense to very intense spells of rain at isolated places in Kangra, Chamba, and Lahaul and Spiti districts on Tuesday.

It has also issued an 'orange' alert for intense spells of rain in Una, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Solan, Mandi and Kullu districts and Shimla city.

Strong currents of the Beas river washed away a multi-storey hotel and four shops in Manali in Kullu district in the early hours of Tuesday. With the river in spate, the gushing waters entered Alu ground in Manali and the Manali-Leh highway was blocked at several points, according to the officials.

Water from Ghanvi Khud (drain) entered houses in Kullu.

Two buildings housing about 40 shops collapsed in the Balichowki area of Mandi district late on Monday night. There were no casualties as the building was vacated earlier after it became dangerous.

Kanvi in Kinnaur district was hit by flash floods.

Various district administrations have ordered the closure of all educational institutions.

An order to this effect was issued by Mandi, Kangra, Chamba, Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Solan and Banjar, Kullu district administrations on Monday evening. The Shimla district administration ordered the closure of all government and private educational institutions on Tuesday morning.

Shimla district has been pounded by rain since Monday morning. The downpour triggered landslides and uprooted trees, leading to road closures.

The meteorological department has forecast more heavy rain during the next 24 hours. Therefore, considering the safety of the students, educational institutions will remain closed in the district on Tuesday, Shimla Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap said in an official order.

A total of 795 roads were closed in the state as on Monday night and around 956 power supply transformers and 517 water supply schemes were disrupted, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.

Out of the 795 closed roads, 289 are in Mandi district, 214 in Chamba and 132 in Kullu. National Highway (NH) 3 (Mandi-Dharampur road) and NH 305 (Aut-Sainj) are also closed, it said.

Between June 20 and August 25, at least 156 people have died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh while 38 have gone missing, according to the SEOC.

The state has witnessed 77 flash floods, 41 cloudbursts and 81 major landslides so far. It has incurred losses to the tune of Rs 2,394 crore in rain-related incidents, the SEOC data showed.

Himachal Pradesh received 703.7 mm of rainfall from June 1 to August 25 against an average of 577.9 mm, an excess of 22 per cent. The state has received 44 per cent excess rainfall in August so far.