Heavy rain lashes Himachal, 272 roads blocked

Nurpur the wettest, monsoon deficit reduced to 17% | Rs335 cr loss of property till date

Tribune Web Desk

Updated At : 01:01 PM Aug 28, 2020 IST

Tribune News Service
Shimla, August 27

Heavy rain lashed several parts of the state, triggering landslides that blocked 272 roads and disrupting normal life. The Met office has forecast heavy rain in lower and mid hills tomorrow and rains and thunderstorms accompanied with lightning in lower and mid hills and rain and snow in higher hills over the next six days up to September 2.

As many as 272 roads — 177 in Mandi zone, 49 in Kangra zone, 27 in Shimla zone and 19 in Hamirpur zone — were blocked. The total loss of public property during the current monsoon season has been assessed at Rs 335 crore till date. A large number of rivulets and tributaries of major rivers are in spate and the work is going on a war footing to open the blocked roads.

Widespread heavy rain occurred in Kangra, Mandi, Chamba and Hamirpur districts. Nurpur was the wettest in the state with 133 mm of rainfall while Bangana and Mandi received 110 mm and 106 mm of rain, followed by Baijnath 95 mm, Nagrota Suriyan 94 mm, Gaggal 88 mm, Dharamsala 82 mm, Palampur 73 mm, Jogindernagar 66 mm, Nadaun 57 mm, Gohar 56 mm, Sarahan 55 mm, Dalhousie 53 mm, Sujanpur Tira and Guler 52 mm each, Bharari 47 mm, Baldwara 44 mm, Bajura 40 mm, Mehre 39 mm, Chamba 36 mm, Fagu 34 mm, Bhuntar 33 mm, Sarkaghat 32 mm, Kumarsein 30 mm, Sundernagar 29 mm, Shimla and Pandoh 27 mm each, Narkanda and Sundernagar 26 mm each, Manali 25 mm, Hamirpur 23 mm, Kothi and Dehra Gopipur 22 mm each, Mashobra 18 mm, Berthin 17 mm and Kahu 15 mm.

The intermittent heavy rain during the past one week have reduced the deficit from 28 per cent to 17 per cent — the state received 507 mm of average rainfall against the normal rainfall of 613 mm.

Bilaspur, Kullu and Una received 22 per cent, 23 per cent and six per cent excess rains while the rainfall deficit was 72 per cent, 50 per cent and 41 per cent in Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba and Kinnaur districts, respectively. The rain deficit in the remaining six districts ranged between 15 per cent (Kangra) and 29 per cent (Sirmaur), the MeT office said.