Here’s why you should avoid travelling to Manali by road ...

Flash floods triggered by a cloud burst have killed at least three people in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi Town on Monday night. Over 20 vehicles have been buried, and several houses have been destroyed, according to officials. 

The intense rain has swept in a huge amount of debris into parts of Jail Road, Saini Mohalla and Zonal hospital area through the gushing waters in the Sukati nallahs or drains flowing through the city. Flood water also entered several houses when people were sleeping.        

A total of 200 roads, 121 in Mandi district, were closed due to the traffic on Monday night. 62 power distribution transformers and 110 water supply schemes have also been affected in the state, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).  

The Chandigarh-Manali National Highway has been closed near Pandoh 4 Mile, 9 Mile and Dwada in the Mandi district as entire stretches of roads have been washed away. The highway has been closed since Monday night, resulting in massive traffic. 

The rains also flooded the Mandi bus terminus, and landslides were also reported from other parts of the town, including the Victoria Bridge and DAV school.

The Shimla-Mataur National Highway at Old Kangra Ghat has also been blocked due to landslides. Several parts of the state also reported the uprooting of trees and electricity.

Manali administration has launched a search and rescue operation. At least one person is still feared to be missing under the debris.          

An orange alert has been issued by the Local Met office with an alert for heavy and very heavy rainfall in areas of Kangra, Mandi and Kullu districts. 

About 90 people have died and 35 have gone missing due to the rains since the onset of the monsoon in the state on June 20. Himachal Pradesh had also suffered losses estimated to be worth at least ₹1523 crore.

 

With inputs from PTI

India