NEW DELHI: A flash flood in Himachal Pradesh swept away shops and multi-storey houses, while also blocking the Manali–Leh highway.A viral video shows a section of the Manali–Leh highway washed away as the swollen Beas River overflowed into Alu Ground in Manali, leaving the highway blocked at multiple points, officials said.
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” for extremely heavy rainfall in parts of Kangra, Chamba, and Lahaul-Spiti districts on Tuesday.An orange alert has also been sounded for Una, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Solan, Mandi, Kullu, and Shimla, warning of intense showers in these areas.Another viral video from Manali captured the dramatic moment a fully-loaded heavy-duty truck was swept away by the surging waters as it attempted to cross the torrent. 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 govt 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.
