AMN / SHIMLA
Heavy rain continued to lash Himachal Pradesh for the past 48 hours. Heavy rain, landslides, and cloud bursts led to the closure of 709 roads including 3 national highways in the state. Power and water supply have also been severely affected in several areas. The Shimla Heritage Railway Station has suffered damage due to torrential rain and landslides.
According to the report from the State Disaster Management Authority, in different parts of the state, during the past 48 hours, heavy rainfall, landslides, floods, and cloud burst incidents have resulted in 13 deaths and six people missing. During this time, landslides have occurred in 24 places and floods in three places in the state. Rivers and streams are overflowing, raising the risk of flooding. Meanwhile 8 to 9 multi-storey buildings collapsed in Ani of Kullu district. These buildings were declared unsafe by district administration a week ago and were evacuated which avoided human loss here. Surender Paul, the Director of the Shimla Meteorological Center, stated that due to the active monsoon, there is an expectation of widespread rainfall for the next two days. He mentioned that an Orange Alert for heavy rainfall on August 24 and a Yellow Alert on August 25 have been issued. These alerts cover Shimla, Chamba, Kullu, Mandi, Kangra, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur, Solan, and Sirmaur districts. A flood warning has also been issued for these districts in the next 24 hours.