Flash floods triggered by a cloudburst in Solan and heavy rain in Shimla, Mandi and Kullu districts of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday flooded houses, washed away livestock and damaged crops and parked vehicles.

According to the State Emergency Operation Centre on Sunday, one person drowned in Hamirpur and Shimla district each. The rain also damaged 11 houses and vehicles each as well as four cowsheds. The state suffered estimated losses of Rs 78 lakh in the past 24 hours, it said.

As rain battered the state in the past 24 hours, several trees fell on the road, blocking vehicle movement on 126 roads in the state, including two national highways, the state emergency operation centre said. The power supply got disrupted as 141 transformers across the state suffered damages, the emergency centre said.

About 35 goats were washed away following a cloudburst at Mahaal Mangal Kathpol in the Arki subdivision of Solan district on Sunday morning, it added. Heavy to very heavy rainfall lashed isolated parts of the Mandi district, while heavy rain occurred in parts of Shimla and Sirmaur districts. Most places in the state witnessed light to moderate rainfall in the last 24 hours.

During heavy rain in Kullu, five cars and three tractors parked along the Mohal Khud area were damaged. In the rain that lashed the Mandi district, two persons were injured, while one house collapsed and two were partially destroyed. Two cars were damaged during the downpour.

Rain wreaked havoc in the Sarpara area of Rampur subdivision of Shimla district on Saturday night, damaging a water supply line of the 14 MW Greenko project, a cowshed and several farms. According to weather data, Sarkaghat in Mandi district was the wettest with 130 mm rainfall, followed by Sundernagar and Baldwara recording 92 mm of rainfall each, Dhaulakuan 90.5 mm and Nahan 76 mm.

The MeT office has cautioned of the possibility of flash floods in Kangra, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur, Chamba and Kullu districts and damage to standing crops, fruit plants and young seedlings. It has also issued a yellow warning for heavy rain, thunderstorm and lightning at isolated places on June 26 and thunderstorm coupled with lightning from June 27-29.

(Edited by : Sangam Singh)

First Published:Jun 25, 2023 6:17 PM IST