Widespread rain across Himachal, landslips at Nigulsari, Shoghi

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Shimla, July 22

Finally, the state has received widespread rainfall after a long time. Some pockets had been receiving rainfall over the last couple of weeks but most areas were going without rainfall. On Sunday night, light to moderate rain occurred at most places and heavy rain occurred at isolated places across the state.

“The distribution and intensity of rain have been good in this spell. We are hoping the monsoon will pick up pace after this spell,” said Surender Paul, Director, Meteorological Centre, Shimla. “The condition over the Bay of Bengal has become more conductive and the Western Disturbances have also become more active. So, the monsoon is likely to become more active,” he said.

The precipitation during the night triggered landslides in some parts of the state. One was recorded at the landslide-prone area of Nigulsari in Kinnaur district. As per the information, the landslide happened during the night, due to which the early morning traffic was disrupted before the road was restored for traffic. Besides, another landslide occurred at the Shoghi bypass near Shimla, which has left one house endangered. The house has been vacated.

According to the Weather Department, the state will receive good rainfall over the next few days, including spells of heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places. The department has issued a yellow alert till July 28. In view of the heavy rainfall at some places, the department has also issued an advisory for low to moderate flash flood risk over a few watersheds and neighbourhoods of the districts of Kangra, Mandi and Chamba during the next 24 hours. There’s a possibility of surface runoff/ inundation at some places having fully saturated soils and low-lying areas due to the expected rainfall over the next 24 hours.