Locals and tourists to stay away from water bodies in the coming days
As landslides wreak havoc in Himachal Pradesh, the Shimla MeT Centre has predicted more bad weather and heavy rains in the state till August 3. According to officials, the MeT department issued yellow alert in the hill state on Friday as it advised locals and tourists to stay away from water bodies.
Warning against a sudden rise in the water levels, the MeT department said that more landslides and uprooting of trees may occur in the coming days.
While the yellow alert has been issued till August 3, officials said that heavy rains are likely to occur in the plains and low and mid hills of the state till August 5.
The Met department issues colour-coded warnings to alert the public ahead of severe or hazardous weather, with 'yellow' indicating least danger.
On Friday, several places in the state received moderate to heavy rains.
Naina Devi witnessed the highest 125 mm rainfall, followed by Mandi 99 mm, Sangrah and Bijahi 60 mm each, Jatton Barrage 53 mm, Paonta Sahib 47 mm, Jogindernagsar 46 mm, Dharamshala 15 mm, Ghamroor 37 mm, Baldwara and Gohar 36 mm each, Dehra Gopipur 33 mm, Amb 32 mm, Pachhad 30 mm, Manali 27 mm, Pandoh and Nurpur 26 mm each, Gaggal and Kufri 25 mm each and Jubbar Hatti 24 mm.
At 33 degrees Celsius, Una was the hottest place in the state, while the lowest temperature was recorded in Narkanda at 13.2 degrees Celsius, an official said.
Meanwhile, a terrifying video has emerged on social media in which a road going up to the hills can be seen collapsing into the chasm in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district.
The Paonta Sahib-Shillai national highway 707 was closed for vehicular traffic after about a 100 metre stretch of the road caved near kali Dhank Badwas following heavy downpour for the last three days in Sirmaur district.
Meanwhile, at least 204 people including locals and tourists are stranded in different locations across the Lahaul-Spiti district, the Himachal Pradesh Disaster Management Authority said on Friday.
The government has issued an advisory for tourists and locals to refrain from high mountains, wandering near rivers and other places vulnerable to landslides.
(With PTI inputs)