Heavy rainfall and snowfall brought normal life to a standstill across various districts of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday night and Monday with Lahaul and Spiti, Kullu, and Mandi bearing the brunt of the extreme weather.
The higher reaches of Lahaul and Spiti, including Shinku La and Baralacha La, received season’s first snowfall, while the lower regions were lashed by heavy rainfall that triggered flash floods and landslides.
In Lahaul and Spiti district, flash floods were reported in Pagal Nala, which blocked the Manali-Leh highway for several hours.
Another flashflood occurred in Dared Nala. A major tragedy was narrowly averted in Karpat village of remote Miyar valley when a large boulder, dislodged by heavy rains, rolled down the hillside and damaged a relief camp. Fortunately, no casualty was reported as the camp occupants were away at the time.
The Kullu district also witnessed intense rainfall, leading to flooding of drains and rivulets. Residents of Bashouna panchayat were forced to flee their homes in the middle of the night after hearing a loud sound caused by the sudden flooding of a drain. Roads, land and several apple orchards in Upper Bashouna and Piyashani were washed away in the gushing water.
The Banjar-Gushaini-Bathahar road remained blocked throughout the day. No loss of life was reported although damage to land and crops was substantial. Kullu DC issued an order that all educational institutions will remain closed in Manali, Kullu and Banjar subdivisions on Tuesday August 26.
In Mandi district, the situation was equally grim. A portion of a house collapsed in Kataula, though no injuries were reported.
Torrential rains triggered blockage of 334 roads across the district on Monday morning. By evening, only 43 roads had been restored, while 291 remained shut, including the crucial Kiratpur-Manali four-lane highway between Mandi and Kullu. Even the alternative Kataula route was blocked, stranding numerous vehicles.
All educational institutions were closed today in Mandi, Kullu and Lahaul and Spiti in view of inclement weather conditions.
Due to rising water levels in the Beas river, dam authorities at Larji and Pandoh released water from their reservoirs. The public has been advised to stay away from riverbanks for the next 24 hours.
Mandi Deputy Commissioner Apoorv Devgan has issued an advisory urging residents and tourists to avoid going to high-altitude areas, riversides and landslide-prone zones.
A red alert has been issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Shimla, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall and thunderstorms across the district from the afternoon of August 25 to the morning of August 26.
Devgan has appealed to citizens to limit travel unless absolutely necessary and to remain informed about weather and road conditions.
Warning that continuous rainfall is saturating the soil and increasing landslide risks, he noted that dam water release would continue at intervals due to high reservoir levels.
The DC issued an order that all educational institutions, including government and private schools, ITIs, vocational training centres, DIETs and Anganwadis, will remain closed in Mandi on August 26 as a precautionary measure under Section 30 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
However, residential institutions such as IIT Mandi and SLBS Medical College are exempted.
Emergency helpline numbers 01905-226201 to 226204 and toll-free number 1077 have been issued for public assistance.
