Rain continues to lash Himachal, 62 roads closed

Continuous rainfall in Himachal Pradesh has led to the closure of 62 roads and several power projects have also been disrupted, officials said on Monday.

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Thirty roads were closed in Shimla, 16 in Mandi, 10 in Kangra, two in Kullu and one each in Kinnaur, Una, Sirmaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts, the state emergency operation centre said. It added that 17 power projects had also been disrupted.

Meanwhile, light rain lashed parts of the state since Sunday evening. Jubbarhatti in Shimla recorded the highest rainfall of 28 mm, followed by Kasauli (25 mm), Shimla (20.6 mm), Kufri (12.3 mm), Naina Devi (12.2 mm), Solan (8.4 mm), Nahan and Berthin (5.2 mm each) and Dalhousie (5 mm).

Himachal’s rainfall deficit since the onset of the monsoon on June 27 stands at 21 per cent. The state has received 524.1 mm of rainfall against the average of 663.9 mm.

According to officials, 158 people have died in rain-related incidents during the ongoing monsoon season from June 27 till September 7, while 30 are still missing. The state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 1,305 crore.

Of the total deaths, 39 were due to falling from height, 27 from drowning, 26 died due to snakebites, 23 during cloudbursts, 17 were electrocuted, eight were killed in flashfloods, six in landslides, one in lightning and 11 due to other reasons, they said.

Meanwhile, Kukumseri in Lahaul and Spiti was the coldest place at 9.8°C while Bilaspur was the hottest at 35.5°C.