Shimla, Aug 31 (PTI) The meteorological centre has issued a red alert for very heavy to extremely heavy rains in four to six districts of Himachal Pradesh from Sunday to Tuesday and cautioned about landslides, flash floods, land subsidence, water-logging and swelling of water bodies.
The Met office has forecast very heavy to extremely heavy rains accompanied by thunderstorms at isolated places in Una, Bilaspur, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur on Sunday.
Heavy to extremely heavy rains are likely in isolated places in Una, Bilapsur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi and Sirmaur on Monday and Chamba, Kangra, Kullu and Mandi on Tuesday, it has predicted.
Himachal Pradesh received 72 per cent excess rains in August 2025, data showed.
The state received 440.8 mm rainfall against the season's average of 256.8 mm. The excess was more than 100 per cent in five districts, namely Kullu (162 per cent), Shimla (126 per cent), Una (121 per cent), Solan (118 per cent) and Chamba (104 per cent).
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who reviewed the situation on Sunday, urged public to exercise caution and extend cooperation in helping the affected people, an official statement said.
Meanwhile, efforts are afoot to evacuate thousands of Manimahesh Yatra pilgrims who were stranded in Bharmaur and Chamba due to torrential rains.
"Nearly 15,000 pilgrims have already started their journey back home on foot from Bharmaur and nearby routes," said Janak Raj, BJP MLA from Bharmaur, in a statement.
It added that the official death toll so far stood at 11 and the situation will be clear in the coming days.
A large number of pilgrims were stranded after the Manimahesh Yatra, which starts on August 17 and was set to conclude on September 15, was suspended on August 24 following heavy rains and landslides in the Chamba region. While the established route to Manimahesh lake is the Chamba-Bharmour-Hadsar road, the Bharmaur area is still cut off by road due to landslides and heavy rains.
Landslides and flash floods have wreaked havoc in many parts of the state, leading to the closure of 666 roads on Sunday morning. This included three national highways -- the Old Hindustan Tibet Road, Mandi-Dharampur Road, Hatkoti to Paonta road and the Aut-Sainj Road.
The Manali-Naggar-Kullu road was obstructed following flash floods on Naitar and Bhagh streams, officials said, adding that restoration works are underway.
Rains triggered landslides at Sujanpur in Hamirpur district, where roads were blocked and water entered some houses.
In Shimla, a few vehicles were buried under debris in different parts of the city while a car was damaged when an electricity pole fell on it. As a result, power supply was snapped in the adjoining areas.
In the 24 hours till 6 pm on Sunday, Malraon received 90 mm of rain, followed by Naina Devi 82.8 mm, Bhattiyat 75.2 mm, Brahmani 73.4 mm, Olinda 66.2 mm, Nahan 60 mm, Kufri 59.5 mm, Jogindernagar 59 mm, Jubbarhatti 58.2 mm, Una 57.6 mm, Solan 55.6 mm, Shimla 50.2 mm and Kangra 45 mm.
From the onset of monsoon in the state on June 20 to August 30, Himachal Pradesh has witnessed 91 flash floods, 45 cloudbursts and 95 major landslides.
As many as 985 power transformers and 495 water supply schemes have been disrupted, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).
The state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 3,056 crore this monsoon, and 320 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents, SEOC data showed. As many as 4,098 houses have been fully or partially damaged, it said.