577 roads closed in Himachal; Met dept issues yellow warning for heavy rains this week

Shimla: Around 577 roads, including three national highways, were closed for vehicular traffic in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday morning due to damage caused by the recent rains.

Meanwhile, the meteorological department has issued a yellow warning for heavy rains in isolated parts of the state later this week, officials said.

Among the national highways, the Attari-Leh road (NH 3), Aut-Sainj road (NH 305) and Amritsar-Bhota road (NH 503A) remained shut due to inclement weather.

Out of 577 roads, the maximum number of 213 roads were blocked in Kullu, while 154 were closed in Mandi district.

Around 812 power transformers and 369 water supply schemes have been disrupted in the state due to the recent floods and landslides, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).

A total of 380 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents since the onset of monsoon in the state on June 20. The state has suffered a loss of Rs 4,306 crore so far.

Of the 380 deaths, 48 died due to landslides, 17 due to cloudbursts, 11 from flash floods, and 165 in road accidents. Additionally, 40 people are still reported missing, according to the SEOC.

Meanwhile, the state witnessed light to moderate rains in some places. Murari Devi received 63 mm of rain since Wednesday evening, followed by Bhareri 62.8 mm, Slapper 54.4 mm, Naina Devi 42.6 mm, Baggi 36.5 mm, Kangra 36 mm, Palampur 36 mm, Sundernagar 33.9 mm, Mandi 27 mm and Gohar 25 mm.

Gusty winds with a wind speed of 37 kilometres per hour lashed Bajaura and Seobagh while thunderstorms were witnessed in Murari Devi, Sundernagar and Palampur, the weather department said.