Cloudburst strikes Himachal again; property damaged, national highway blocked

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Shimla district damaged a school, two houses and agricultural land, while the National Highway 5 near Jhakri and Joeri regions was blocked due to a landslide, officials said on Wednesday. Sub Divisional Magistrate, Rampur, Nishant Tomar said as many as 17 sheep and goats were swept away following the cloudburst in Kandhar village in Sarpara panchayat on Tuesday. Tomar, who was on his way to the affected village, was also stranded due to the inclement weather.

He said machines are deployed at the landslide site, but shooting stones are obstructing the restoration work. However, so far no human casualty has been reported and immediate relief has been provided to the affected people, he said. Since the onset of monsoon on June 24, about 652 houses have been completely damaged in Himachal Pradesh, while 6,686 were partially damaged besides 236 shops and 2,037 cow sheds, according to the data of the state emergency response centre.

The local meteorological office has issued an 'orange alert' for heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places in eight of the 12 districts of the state on July 26 and 27, and cautioned against landslides, flash floods, mudslides and increased runoff in rivers. The MeT has also issued 'yellow warning' of heavy rain on July 28 and predicted a wet spell in the state till July 31. It cautioned of moderate to high risk of flash floods in Chamba, Kangra, Shimla and Sirmaur districts.