Shimla/ Manali (HP), Aug 26 (PTI) Shops were washed away, buildings collapsed, highways were cut off, and residential areas inundated as heavy rain triggered landslides and flash floods at several places in Himachal Pradesh, officials said on Tuesday.
However, no loss of life has been reported so far in any of the incidents that have occurred since Monday night.
A total of 690 roads were closed in the state as of Tuesday morning, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said. Of the roads closed, 320 are in the Mandi district and 132 in Kullu.
The local meteorological office has issued a red alert, warning of heavy to very heavy rain in Kangra, Chamba, and Mandi districts on Tuesday.
It has also issued an 'orange' alert for heavy rain at isolated areas in Mandi, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts on Friday and Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Shimla districts on Saturday.
Strong currents of the Beas river washed away a multi-storey hotel and four shops in Kullu district's Manali in the early hours of Tuesday.
With the river in spate, the gushing waters entered the Alu ground in Manali, while the national highway connecting Chandigarh and Manali was damaged at several places.
Approximately 200 meters of the Manali-Leh highway was also washed away by the waters of the swollen Beas River, leading to the route being closed and tourists being left stranded.
The situation is also grim on Manali's Right Bank Road, which connects Kullu city. Two major sections of the national highway were washed away, while the Manali to Burua road was also wiped out near Old Manali.
"Connectivity to Manali from the right bank has been disrupted. So far, four shops, two restaurants and one house have been damaged since Monday," said Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) Manali Raman Sharma.
The level of the Beas river rose further on Tuesday after 20,000 cusec of water was released from the Largi Dam. Authorities have advised people to stay away from the riverbanks and landslide-prone areas.
In Kullu, water from the Ghanvi Khud stream entered houses, while two buildings housing 40 shops collapsed in the Balichowki area of Mandi district late on Monday night. However, there were no casualties as the building was vacated beforehand.
According to the weather department, Naina Devi received 160.8 mm of rain since Monday evening, followed by Bhattiyat 125.2 mm, Manali and Dharamshala 102 mm each, Ghamroor 91.4 mm, Kangra 89 mm, Palampur 88 mm, Kothi 85.8 mm, Bhunter 77.2 mm, Guler 71.8 mm and Karsog 65.2 mm.
Between June 20 and August 25, at least 156 people have died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh, while 38 have gone missing, according to the SEOC.
The state has witnessed 78 flash floods, 41 cloudbursts and 82 major landslides so far. It has incurred losses to the tune of Rs 2,394 crore in rain-related incidents, the SEOC data showed.