Moderate to heavy rainfall with thunderstorms likely in Himachal Pradesh today: IMD

India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday predicted moderate to heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms in various districts of Himachal Pradesh.

"Moderate to heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms is very likely to continue in the districts of Bilaspur, Solan, Shimla, Sirmaur, Una, Hamirpur, Mandi and Kullu in most places and very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places," the IMD said.

The IMD further stated that few locations in the remaining districts are likely to see light to moderate rainfall. "Light to moderate rainfall is likely to occur at a few places in the rest of the districts," said the IMD.

Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh (HP) Traffic, Tourist and Railways Police on Monday took to its Twitter handle and said that the IMD has issued a red alert for various parts of the state and laid down instructions by the local administration.

"The Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for most districts of the state today, which means there is a "very high risk of heavy to very heavy rainfall". So you avoid unnecessary travel. Stay away from rivers and landslide areas. Please follow the instructions issued by the local administration," tweeted the HP Traffic, Tourist and Railways Police.

On Sunday, six people were stranded in the Nagwain village of Mandi due to the rise in the water level of the Beas River, an official statement said.

A rescue operation was underway to rescue the stranded people. "A rescue operation is underway to rescue six people stranded in Nagwain due to the rise in water level of the Beas River following incessant rainfall in the state," an official said.

Earlier, on Sunday the Panchvaktra bridge in Mandi collapsed as heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh continued to batter almost all districts, triggering landslides and flash floods in various regions.

Additional District Magistrate, Mandi, Ashwani Kumar said the historic bridge was washed away as the water level of the river rose.

Also, on Sunday, the bridges connecting Aut village to Banjar, and Pandoh village were swept away by the overflowing Beas river in Mandi district. Taking note of the incident, former chief minister Jairam Thakur said the washed-away bridges were the "identity of Himachal".

According to the Meteorological Centre, Shimla, moderate to heavy rainfall with thunder at most places and very heavy rainfall at isolated places was very likely to occur in the districts of Shimla, Solan, Kinnaur, Sirmaur, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Bilaspur and Hamirpur.