Rains in Himachal Pradesh: Flash floods damage houses in Kamru, Shimla-Kinnaur highway blocked

Shimla/Rampur: Flash floods damaged houses and inundated agricultural land in Himachal Pradesh's Kamru Panchayat on Thursday while the Shimla-Kinnaur highway was blocked due to a swollen Broni stream between Rampur and Jhakri, officials said.

Since the onset of monsoon in the hill state, 130 people have died in rain-related incidents such as landslides and flash floods, and road accidents, according to the Himachal Pradesh State Emergency Response Centre.

The state has suffered a loss of Rs 4,809 crore. On the situation in Kamru Panchayat in the Sangla Valley, Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner (DC) Tarul S Raveesh said flash floods increased the water flow in a stream. Horticulture as well as agriculture land have been inundated and the loss is being assessed, the official said.

Reports of damage to houses and vehicles are also pouring in, the DC said and added that no casualty has been reported yet.

Shimla DC Aditya Negi said following a cloudburst, water level in the Broni Nallah increased and inundated the Shimla-Kinnaur National Highway-5 between Rampur and Jhakri.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has started work to open the road for vehicular movement, he said.

Due to heavy rains since several days, as many as 686 roads are blocked for vehicular movement in the state and 1,138 transformers and 315 water supply schemes have been affected, according to officials.

They said as many as 572 houses have been damaged completely and 4,703 partially. Damaged properties also include 148 shops and 1,286 cowsheds in the state.

The agriculture and horticulture losses have gone up to Rs 158 crore, the officials said and added that central teams are inspecting the rain-affected areas of the state.

The local meteorological office has issued a yellow warning of heavy rains at isolated places till July 24. It also cautioned of low to moderate flash flood risk in Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, Shimla and Sirmaur districts.

Light to heavy rains lashed parts of Himachal Pradesh, and Narkanda received 87 mm of rain, Shillaro (Shimla) 86 mm, Karsog 38.5 mm, Bharmour 38 mm, Sarahan 35 mm and Jubbarhatti 34 mm.