Cloudbursts hit Chamba, Mandi; woman swept away in Hamirpur

As monsoon continues to wreak havoc in the hill state, Chamba and Mandi were hit by cloudburst on Sunday. Albeit no casualty was reported, three pedestrian bridges were washed away.

- Shailee Dogra

Meanwhile, in Hamirpur, a migrant woman reportedly swept away in the Barsar area after heavy rains resulted in the rise of water level in Shukra Khad. The victim, Kiran Kumar, 29, was a resident of Bihar.

Sub divisional magistrate (SDM, Padhar) in Mandi district, Surjeet Singh, said, “There has been no loss of life or property in this cloudburst incident. In the incident, three foot bridges and one vehicle-worthy bridge were washed away in Kugdi and Kotarang drains.”

While another cloudburst occurred in Churah of Chamba on Sunday morning resulting in destruction of a newly constructed bridge. As a result four panchayats of the area have lost connectivity with the rest of the state.

The IMD on Sunday has sounded a moderate to high flash flood alert in Bilaspur, Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur, Solan and Una districts of Himachal Pradesh for 24 hours.

For July 7, the weather office has sounded an orange alert of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts.