Monsoon hits Himachal before time; heavy rains, landslides kill nearly 300 goats in Chamba

Shimla: Southwest Monsoon hit Himachal Pradesh on Saturday, days ahead of its normal onset time in the state, bringing in heavy rains and triggering landslides that killed nearly 300 goats in Chamba district, damaged a house and some vehicles parked on the roadside in Shimla and blocking several roads.

Officials from the Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Limited also said water supply will be hit for the next few days in the city.

Several parts of the state received moderate to very heavy rain from Friday, with MeT officials saying heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur in Sirmaur, Solan, Shimla, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur, Mandi and Kangra districts over the next few days.

Southwest Monsoon usually hits Himachal Pradesh around June 28-29th, but this year officials confirmed its onset on Saturday, June 24.

The Met Office has issued 'orange' warning indicating 'heavy to 'very heavy' rain, thunderstorm, and lightning at isolated places on June 25 and 26 and 'yellow' warning indicating thunderstorm and lightning on June 27 and 28.

Kataula in Mandi district was wettest with 163.3 mm of rain followed by Sinhuta, 160 mm, Kasauli, 145 mm, Kangra which received 143.5 mm.

Shimla received 99.2 mm of rain, followed by Gohar (81mm), Jubbarhatti (76.5 mm), Pandoh (74 mm), Sundernagar (70 mm), Pachhad (65.2 mm), Mandi (58.5 mm), Kufri (58 mm), Mashobra (52 mm), Dhaulakaun (48.5 mm), Dharamshala (47 mm), Solan (44 mm) and Nahan (39 mm).

Heavy rains triggered landslides at several places and 20 roads, including a section of the National Highway-5 near Theog in Shimla, were blocked, according to the state emergency operation centre.

A house was completely damaged in Krishna Nagar area in the heart of Shimla. The incident occurred around 4 am on Saturday. However, no casualty was reported, officials said on Saturday.

About 290 goats were killed and 50 were injured in an avalanche that occurred near Kugti Jot in Bharmour area of Chamba district, officials said, adding the goats belonged to nine shepherds.

Officials from the Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Limited said water supply will be hit for the next few days due to heavy silt load in the water sources and have requested the citizens to use water judiciously.  Turbidity increases during the rainy season which can interfere with disinfection, allowing harmful bacteria, viruses and parasites to grow. Therefore, the general public has been asked to drink water after boiling it for 10 minutes to avoid jaundice, cholera and other gastrointestinal illnesses, they said.