162 roads closed in Himachal Pradesh; Meteorological department issues orange alert for heavy rain on August 10, 11

Shimla: Even as Himachal Pradesh grapples with the closure of 162 roads and disruption of 73 water supply schemes and 105 transformers due to rain as of Friday evening, the Shimla Met Office has issued an 'orange' alert, warning of further heavy rain on August 10 and 11.

The orange warning, indicating heavy to very heavy rains, has been issued for Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Sirmaur districts for August 10 and Chamba, Kullu, Mandi and Sirmaur districts for August 11.

Read more: Over 150 roads closed in Himachal; MeT predicts wet spell till August 10


For the rest of the districts, barring Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur, the Met has issued a yellow warning on both these days.

The State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said as many as 162 roads have been closed in the state following heavy rains.

Fifty-six roads were blocked in Mandi followed by 48 in Kullu, 19 in Chamba, 16 in Sirmaur, 14 in Shimla, seven in Kangra and two in Una district.

The SEOC said 73 water supply schemes and 105 transformers have also been disrupted.

Read more: 64 dead in Himachal Pradesh since monsoon's onset; wet spell to be on till Aug 12

Meanwhile, among rain-related incidents in the state, a tourist vehicle was buried under debris on the Barot-Ghatasni road in Mandi district. However, both tourists inside it escaped unhurt, reports reaching here said.

In the Darang area of Mandi, two buildings were reported endangered after the retaining wall of a road caved in.

The weather department said Dharamshala received 91.8 mm of rain in the 24 hours since Thursday evening, followed by Jogindernagar (76 mm), Mandi (68 mm), Kandaghat (63.2 mm), Manali (63 mm), Jatton Barrage (62 mm), Shimla (55 mm), Sarahan (40.7 mm) and Kufri (40.5 mm).

Since the onset of the monsoon rain on June 30, 65 people have died in rain-related incidents so far, including 14 in landslides and one in flash floods. The state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 834 crore.

The weather department has predicted a wet spell in the state till August 13.