Monsoon losses in Himachal cross Rs 900 crore; heavy rain likely till Aug 17

The total loss caused by torrential rain during the ongoing monsoon season has breached the Rs 900-crore mark as heavy rains continue to wreak havoc across the state. According to the Department of Revenue, the state has so far suffered a total loss of Rs 910.34 crore, of which the Public Works Department (PWD) alone has suffered losses of Rs 686.36 crore. Similarly, the Jal Shakti Vibhag has suffered a loss of Rs 203.89 crore and the Power Department Rs 5.3 crore.

As many as 2,026 roads, including the Kiratpur-Manali National Highway and NH-154, have been blocked across the state. Additionally, 45 transformers and 82 water supply schemes continue to remain disrupted, causing inconvenience to people.

As per the State Emergency Operation Centre, of the total blocked roads, 82, including two national highways, are in Mandi, 56 in Kullu, 23 in Sirmaur, 16 in Chamba, 14 in Shimla, five in Kangra, four in Una and two each in Solan, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti.

Similarly, of the total disrupted transformers, 41 are in Sirmaur, two in Shimla and one each in Chamba and Mandi. Of the water supply schemes that remain disrupted, about 31 are in Sirmaur, 25 in Shimla, 11 in Hamirpur, eight in Mandi, five in Chamba and two in Bilaspur.

In Shimla, about six two-wheelers were damaged following a landslide in the Sanjauli area.

Meanwhile, heavy rainfall is very likely to continue across the state till August 17, for which orange and yellow alerts have been issued by the State Meteorological Centre. For August 12, yellow alerts have been issued for Kangra, Mandi and Chamba districts, with heavy rain likely at isolated places in these districts. Light to moderate rain is also expected in the rest of the state.

While minimum temperatures are expected to remain normal across the state till August 17, maximum temperatures are very likely to rise by 2°C to 5°C.

Light to moderate rain continued in most parts of the state during the past 24 hours. Dharamshala received 74.1 mm, Palampur 66.4 mm, Kangra 40.2 mm, Bhuntar 37.2 mm, Mandi 21.8 mm, Paonta Sahib 11.4 mm, Shimla 7.2 mm and Manali 5.2 mm.

The maximum temperature in Shimla was 20.4°C, Dharamshala 28°C, Manali 22.2°C, Solan 23°C, Kangra 24.9°C, Mandi 25.4°C, Sundernagar 25.9°C, Hamirpur 27°C, Kufri 17.2°C, Keylong 25.5°C, Kalpa 21.4°C, Nahan 25.6°C and Chamba 25.4°C.

The highest maximum temperature in the state was 30.2°C, recorded in Una, while the lowest minimum temperature was 12.5°C, recorded in Kukumseri in Lahaul and Spiti.