State suffers Rs 407 crore loss, 245 roads blocked

Over the past 12 days, Himachal Pradesh has suffered a loss of Rs 407.02 crore due to torrential rains that have wreaked havoc in the state since the onset of the monsoon season. Around 245 roads remain blocked while 918 power transformers and 683 water supply schemes are damaged in the state.

Also, 13 persons have lost their lives, five sustained injuries while at least 34 remain missing as a result of flashfloods triggered by cloudbursts and torrential rain that have devastated the state during the last 42 hours. As many as 370 persons from across the state have been rescued during the same period of time.

The state’s Meteorological Department has issued a flashflood warning for Shimla, Kullu, Chamba, Mandi and Kangra districts for the next 24 hours, resulting in surface runoff and inundation at some fully saturated soils and low-lying areas. Heavy rain is very likely to continue at isolated areas of the state till July 8. An orange warning of heavy rain has been issued for July 3 to 8.

Meanwhile, the state witnessed light to moderate rainfall at most places in the past 24 hours. Kasauli in Solan district received 50 mm of rain, which was the highest in state, followed by Mandi (40 mm), Shimla (30 mm), Sundernagar in Mandi (20 mm) and Bilaspur (10 mm).

Himachal Tribune