Met issues 'orange' alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in Himachal on August 10

Shimla, Aug 9 (PTI) The regional Met office issued an an 'orange' warning for heavy to very rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning, at isolated places of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday and a 'yellow' warning for heavy rain till August 15.

It also warned of a low to moderate flash flood risk in isolated parts of Mandi, Bilaspur, Solan, Sirmaur, Shimla and Kullu districts till Saturday.

The weather department also cautioned of the possibility of landslides and flash floods in some places, as well as damage to plantations, crops, vulnerable structures and kutcha houses due to strong winds and waterlogging in low-lying areas.

Since Thursday evening, Jogindernagar in Mandi district recorded the highest rainfall at 160 mm, followed by Dharamshala (112.4 mm), Kataula (112.3 mm), Bharari (98.4 mm), Kandaghat (80 mm), Palampur (78.2 mm), Pandoh (76 mm), Baijnath (75 mm), Kufri (70.8 mm) and Shimla (60.5 mm).

Water supply in Shimla was affected due to turbidity in the sources.

Turbidity is the cloudiness of a fluid caused by suspended solids, usually invisible to the naked eye.

The state capital received supply of 24.64 million litres per day (MLD) against a normal of 42-45 MLD on Friday.

Shimla receives water from six sources -- Gumma, Giri, Churot, Seog, Chairh and Koti Brandi.

The incessant rainfall also led to the closure of 97 roads on Thursday, the State Emergency Operations Centre said.

Atleast 100 people have been killed in rain-related incidents and the state has suffered losses of about Rs 802 crore between June 27 and August 8, officials said.

The rainfall deficit in the state during the monsoon that began on June 1 stood at 28 per cent till August 8 with Himachal Pradesh receiving 321.8 mm rain against an average of 445.7 mm. PTI BPL OZ SZM