NH-5 blocked in Kinnaur following cloudburst; heavy rain uproots tree in Shimla’s Jakhu

National Highway-5 has been blocked in Kinnaur district due to a flash flood triggered by a cloudburst near Skibba village. The cloudburst occurred in Raldang Khad near the village in Pooh Block of the district, leading to the rise in the water levels in the Khad.

As a result of the flash flood, a large deposition of muck and boulders occurred along at least a 150‑metre stretch of road, rendering it impassable for vehicular traffic. Debris and large boulders fell on the road, thus blocking it for vehicular traffic. However, no loss of life has been reported in the incident.

The district administration, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and district police officials reached the spot and initiated the road clearance process.

Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner said that the restoration work is going on and the road will be cleared soon. He also appealed to the people to be cautious and to refrain from unnecessary travel in case of heavy rainfall.

A road in Jakhu locality in Shimla was also blocked after a tree along with debris fell on the road due to heavy rainfall in the town. As a result, the road was blocked for a few hours. The district administration reached the spot as soon as it received the information and cleared the road.

The state experienced heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places and light to moderate rain at most places during the last 24 hours.

The highest rainfall in the state was recorded in Mandi, which received 151.2 mm rain, followed by Sundernagar 84.1 mm. Nadaun in Hamirpur district received 80 mm, Palampur 55.8 mm, Bilaspur 30.8 mm, Manali 29.2 mm, Kangra 23.2 mm, Narkanda 22 mm, Shimla 20.4 mm, Dharamsala 10.7 mm and Una 10.6 mm.

As per the State’s Meteorological Department, heavy rainfall at isolated places and light to moderate rain at most places are very likely to continue across the state till August 11. The department has also issued a yellow weather warning for various districts till August 11, resulting in heavy rainfall in isolated areas.