Himachal braces for more rain till August 23; MeT issues orange, yellow alerts for various districts

As many as 87 roads continue to remain blocked across Himachal Pradesh after being damaged by torrential rains during the ongoing monsoon season.

According to the State Emergency Operation Centre, 33 of the blocked roads are in Kullu, 27 in Mandi, nine in Shimla, six in Kangra, four each in Una and Sirmaur, three in Chamba and one in Lahaul and Spiti.

Four transformers, including two each in Shimla and Kullu, and eight drinking water supply schemes in Shimla also remain disrupted.

Meanwhile, heavy rainfall is likely to continue across the state till August 23, with the Meteorological Centre issuing orange and yellow alerts for various districts.

For August 18, an orange alert has been issued for Kangra, Mandi, Bilaspur and Sirmaur, where very heavy to heavy rain is likely at isolated places during the day. Landslides and flash floods are also possible at vulnerable locations.

A yellow alert has been issued for Shimla, Kullu, Solan, Una, Hamirpur and Chamba, where heavy rain is likely at isolated places. Light to moderate rain is expected in other parts of the state.

Minimum temperatures are likely to remain normal, while maximum temperatures may fall by 2°C to 4°C over the next few days.

Light to moderate rain was recorded at several places in the state during the past 24 hours. Dharamsala received 52.2 mm of rain, followed by Nahan (30.6 mm), Una (12.6 mm) and Kasauli (10 mm).

The maximum temperatures recorded at various places were 23.7°C in Shimla, 28°C in Dharamsala, 26.2°C in Manali, 30°C in Solan, 32.3°C in Kangra, 33°C in Una, 32.4°C in Sundernagar, 33°C in Bilaspur, 32.6°C in Hamirpur, 20.1°C in Kufri, 24°C in Kalpa, 28°C in Nahan, 25.8°C in Keylong and 31.3°C in Chamba.

Mandi recorded the highest maximum temperature in the state at 33.7°C, while Kukumseri in Lahaul and Spiti recorded the lowest minimum temperature at 11.4°C.