Cloudburst strikes Himachal again, houses washed away, national highway blocked

Shimla/Rampur: A cloudburst in Rampur sub-division of Shimla district washed away a school, five houses and agricultural land, while the National Highway 5 near Jhakri and Joeri areas was blocked due to a landslide, officials said on Wednesday.

Rampur Sub-Divisional Magistrate Nishant Tomar said about 20 sheep and goats and some cows were swept away following the cloudburst in Kandhar village in Sarpara panchayat on Tuesday and landslide has blocked the Shimla-Kinnaur road.

He said machines are deployed at the landslide site, but shooting stones are obstructing the restoration work.

However, so far no casualty has been reported and immediate relief has been provided to the affected people, he said.

The houses which were completely damaged belonged to Surender Kumar, Vijay Nand, Mohan, Narendra and Sangat Ram.

Two vehicles were crushed under a rock that slid down following rains in Sunda village near Rampur but the drivers and the passengers were rescued.

Since the onset of monsoon on June 24, about 652 houses have been completely damaged in Himachal Pradesh, while 6,686 were partially damaged besides 236 shops and 2,037 cow sheds, according to the data of the state emergency response centre.

The local meteorological office has issued an 'orange alert' for heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places in the state on July 26, 27 and 28, and cautioned against landslides, flash floods, mudslides and increased runoff in rivers.

The MeT has also issued 'yellow warning' of heavy rain on July 29 and predicted a wet spell in the state till August 1. It cautioned of moderate to high risk of flash floods in Chamba, Kangra, Shimla and Sirmaur districts.

Heavy to very heavy rains lashed Sirmaur district and Jatton Barrage received 156 mm of rain, Renuka 120 mm, Nahan 113 mm, Pachhad 103 mm, Rajgarh 74 mm and Sangraha 68 mm rainfall.

Light to moderate rains lashed several parts of the state and Kasauli recorded 63 mm of rain, followed by Chopal 54 mm rainfall, Solan 52 mm and Rampur 45 mm rainfall.

According to the state emergency response centre, 168 people have died in rain-related and road accidents, and the hill state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 5,350 crore since the onset of monsoon till July 25.