Himachal Cloudburst Leaves Farms Damaged, Vehicles Under Debris
Gutrahan village in Naina Devi constituency hit by flash floods; 503 roads closed, power and water supply disrupted across the state.
Shimla, Sep 13: A cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh’s Bilaspur district early Saturday wreaked havoc, burying several vehicles under debris and damaging farmlands in Gutrahan village of the Namhol area, officials said. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.
Villagers said gushing waters carrying heavy debris swept across agricultural land, leaving fields devastated. Kashmir Singh, a local resident, described how the torrent engulfed farms and vehicles in its path.
Meanwhile, dense fog enveloped Shimla on Saturday morning, reducing visibility to just a few metres and causing inconvenience to commuters, especially during school hours.
The Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert for heavy rainfall in isolated parts of the state over the weekend. As of Friday evening, 503 roads including the Attari-Leh Road (NH-3), Aut-Sainj Road (NH-305), and Amritsar-Bhota Road (NH-503A) remained blocked due to landslides and flooding.
According to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), 953 power transformers and 336 water supply schemes have also been disrupted. Since June 20, when the monsoon began, Himachal has reported 386 deaths 218 in rain-related incidents and 168 in road accidents with total losses estimated at ₹4,465 crore.
Meteorological data shows the state has received 967.2 mm of rainfall between June 1 and September 12, 43% above the normal average of 678.4 mm.
