1 killed after cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh, Met warns of heavy rain
A person died due to a cloudburst triggered by heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district as 26 roads, including a national highway, were closed due to bad weather in the district, officials said on Thursday.
Heavy rain occurred in many parts of the state amid orange weather warning issued by local meteorological department.
Meanwhile, 72 roads, including National Highway-707 in Sirmour district remained blocked due to heavy rain. This include 27 roads in Sirmour district, 24 in Mandi, 10 in Kangra, nine in Shimla and two in Kullu district.
A cloudburst at Parloni village caused the death of one person while shops and other infrastructure was damaged after a 'gharat' (water mill) collapsed in Amboya area of Poanta subdivision of the district, Sirmaur Deputy Commissioner Sumit Khimta told the PTI on Thursday.
The deceased, identified as Rangi, was buried under the debris.
Some roads have been disrupted and the water level in Yamuna river has also increased, the officer said, adding that educational institutions have been closed for a day in Poanta Sahib and Shallai areas of the district.
Dhaulakuan in Sirmour district received 275 mm rain, highest in the state, followed by 165.5 mm rain in Paonta Sahib. Nahan received 94.4 mm, Dharamsala 54 mm, Mandi 42.2 mm, Palampur 39 mm, Kangra 38.3 mm and Shimla received 38 mm rain.
There were reports of rain and erratic power supply in several areas, including in Shimla and Hamirpur districts.
As per the meteorological department, light to moderate rain along with thunderstorms are very likely to continue in isolated areas of Shimla, Kullu, Kangra, Chamba, Hamirpur, Una, Bilaspur, Mandi, Solan and Sirmour districts.
This could lead to traffic disruption, waterlogging in low lying areas, low visibility and minor damage to vulnerable areas.
The rain deficit in the current monsoon season (from June 1 onwards) was 19 per cent with Himachal Pradesh receiving 590.4 mm rainfall against a normal of 729.5 mm, the local Met office said on Wednesday. — with PTI
