Himachal Pradesh rains: 19 dead, 923 roads closed amid landslides and flash floods

Rains started subsiding in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, a day after downpours and flash floods left a trail of destruction. However, authorities were on their toes to restore traffic in over 300 of the 923 blocked roads.

The water level in the Beas river rose dramatically, touching the Chandigarh-Manali National Highway 21 near the Hanogi temple.

A government spokesperson said that the Satluj, Beas and Yamuna rivers along with their tributaries have been in spate in Kinnaur, Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, Bilaspur and Sirmaur districts.

Authorities said excess water was discharged from the Pandoh diversion dam, located 112 km upstream of Pong dam on Baes, as a precautionary measure.

Meteorological office director Manmohan Singh told IANS:

As per the latest weather charts, forecast for the next three days for the state is light to moderate rainfall very likely to occur at a few places over middle and low hills and at isolated places over higher reaches.

Heavy rains lashing down on the mountainous region of Himachal Pradesh since Sunday evening brought life to a grinding halt.

Death toll rises to 19 in two days

As landslides, flash floods, collapsed bridges and swollen rivers wreaked havoc, at least 18 rain-related deaths were reported across the state so far, NDTV reported. The death of a 5-year-old boy who drowned in Kangra on Tuesday morning took the death toll to 19.

Four members of a family were killed in a landslide in Kandaghat subdivision in Solan district. A boy was washed away in the swollen Kaushalya river near Parwanoo in the district. Reports said five people were buried under a landslide near Chakla village at Kandaghat in Solan district. One of them had also reportedly died.

Landslides in Mandi district resulted in the death of three persons while road traffic was disrupted for hours on the highways of Chandigarh-Shimla, Shimla-Nahan, Chamba-Pathankot and Mandi-Pathankot.

Hundreds of people have been stranded across the state after multiple landslides resulted in blocked roads. The Baes river has flooded to an extent where the water has washed out bridges and inundated roads in multiple regions.

As a precautionary measure, all schools and educational institutes in Shimla, Solan, Kullu, Hamirpur, Kangra, Kinnaur and Mandi districts were closed on Monday. Extending the same to the entire state, all educational institutions across Himachal Pradesh remained shut on Tuesday as well.

A government advisory has notified people to avoid travel as the weather officials warned of heavy rains in the state till Tuesday and thereafter on August 16 and August 17.

923 roads across state affected by landslides

Additional Chief Secretary Manisha Nanda said that 923 roads were closed due to landslides, including six National Highways, and that men and machinery had been pressed into service to open these roads as soon as possible.

Presiding over a review meeting here on the damage caused by rains, Chief Secretary Vineet Chawdhry said the state had released Rs 96.50 crore for relief and rescue operations.

The water level in the Beas river rose dramatically, touching the Chandigarh-Manali National Highway 21 near the Hanogi temple. The traffic on the stretch was suspended owing to the development.

All trains on the Kalka-Shimla route were cancelled on Monday due to landslides on the railway tracks in the mountainous region.

After heavy overnight rains, most roads in Himachal interiors remained closed to traffic on Monday, leaving hundreds of commuters stranded. Vehicular movement in Kinnaur district was also suspended due to landslides at several places on the Hindustan-Tibet Road.

While a few minor accidents were reported, authorities are working in full swing to clear the landslides and restore as many roads as possible to restore traffic movement. An official said traffic in higher reaches of Kinnaur, Shimla, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu and Sirmaur districts was the worst affected and efforts were on to restore it.

State capital records the highest precipitation in 7 years

The state capital, Shimla recorded 172 mm rainfall within 24 hours in this month - the highest precipitation since 2011, a meteorological official said.

Extremely heavy rainfall occurred at isolated places in Solan, Mandi, Sirmaur, Kangra and Hamirpur districts. Heavy to very heavy rainfall occurred at a few places in Shimla, Kullu, Una, Bilaspur and Chamba districts, a statement by the meteorological office said.

Sujanpur Tira town in Hamirpur district recorded the highest rainfall in the state at 307 mm, while it was 300 mm in Arki town in Solan district and 239 mm in Paonta Sahib in Sirmaur district.

Baijnath town in Kangra district recorded 235 mm in the past 24 hours, while Palampur town recorded 212 mm. It was 142 mm in Dharamsala town, 117 mm in Kasauli, 129 mm in Solan town and 72 mm in Dalhousie.

Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) authorities released excess water from the Pandoh dam into the Beas river as heavy rain abnormally increased the water level in the reservoir, the official said.

The water level in the major rivers of the state - the Satluj, Beas and Yamuna - which enter the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana has also increased, a government official said.

Continuous heavy rains have increased the water level in the Beas river and its tributaries, including the Parvati and the Tirthan.

Meanwhile, BJP President Amit Shah cancelled his day-long visit to the state capital on August 16 owing to bad weather, state party chief Satpal Satti said in a statement on Monday. Shah was slated to chalk out the strategy for the 2019 general elections in the state.