Himachal: MeT warns of low flash flood risk in parts of Shimla, Sirmaur; issues yellow alert

The local Met office warned of low flash flood risk in parts of Shimla and Sirmaur districts till Saturday and issued a yellow alert for heavy rain, thunderstorms and lightning in isolated places of the state on August 27 and 28. It also predicted a wet spell in the state till August 29.

The MeT has advised the farmers to make proper arrangements for drainage in their fields to avoid water stagnation. The farmers should harvest the mature vegetables in the morning and evening hours for better quality. Meanwhile, light rains have been witnessed in a few parts of the state since Thursday evening.

Dharamshala recorded 21 mm of rain followed by Baijnath at 10 mm, Jogindernagar at 9 mm, Manali at 8 mm, Dalhousie at 6 mm and Gohar and Mandi at 5 mm each. Himachal Pradesh's rainfall deficit since the onset of monsoon on June 27 till date stood at 24 per cent with the state receiving 431.3 mm rain against an average of 564.7 mm.

According to the state emergency operation centre, 140 people have died in rain-related incidents so far and the state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 1,212 crore. A total of 40 roads are closed for vehicular traffic in the state following rains in recent days and 14 power schemes have been disrupted, the centre said.

Keylong in the tribal Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in the state at a low of 11.8 mm degrees Celsius while Una was the hottest with a maximum temperature of 34.6 degrees Celsius