Relentless rainfall over the past few days has severely impacted life in Himachal Pradesh, leading to the closure of 245 roads, including the Mandi-Dharampur stretch of National Highway-3 — a key route connecting Punjab’s Attari to Leh in Ladakh.
Mandi has been one of the worst-hit districts in the state. In the aftermath of 10 cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides that struck on the night of June 30 and July 1, the region saw massive devastation. As many as 15 lives were lost, and vital infrastructure continues to suffer. As of Thursday, 138 roads in Mandi alone remain blocked, with 124 electricity transformers and 137 water supply schemes disrupted.
The State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) has stated that a total of 192 transformers and 740 water supply schemes were out of order as of Thursday morning.
Rain continues to lash isolated areas in Sirmaur and Bilaspur districts. Dhaulakuan in Sirmaur received the heaviest downpour at 168.5 mm since Wednesday evening, followed by Bilaspur at 120.4 mm. Other areas such as Manali, Jubbarhatti, Nagrota Surian, and Poanta Sahib also recorded low to moderate rains.
The local weather department has issued a yellow alert for heavy rain at isolated locations in Himachal from Sunday to Wednesday. The department has also issued warning of flash-flood risks of high to moderate intensity across districts like Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, and Sirmaur.
Since the monsoon’s arrival on June 20, the hill state has recorded 30 per cent excess rainfall. The damage has been extensive as the state has suffered estimated losses of over ₹740 crore. There have been 31 flash floods, 22 cloudbursts, and 17 landslides so far, claiming many lives, damaged homes, agriculture, and forest lands.
In total, 85 people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents, 54 due to rain-related disasters and 31 in road accidents while 129 people have been injured, and 34 are still missing.
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