New Delhi, July 5
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a Red Alert for very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh on July 6, particularly in the districts of Kangra, Sirmaur, and Mandi. The forecast comes in the wake of an already challenging week marked by heavy rain and several cloudbursts that have claimed at least 69 lives and left 37 people missing in the hill state.
The Red Alert has been issued in anticipation of peak monsoon intensity on July 6 and 7. An Orange Alert has also been sounded for Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Chamba, Solan, Shimla, and Kullu districts, warning residents and authorities to remain on high alert.
The IMD's Shimla centre stated earlier on Friday that the state is likely to witness intense rainfall activity from Saturday to Wednesday (July 5 to 9).
In the last 24 hours, isolated locations experienced heavy rainfall, while several other parts of the state received light to moderate showers. Aghar recorded the highest rainfall at 7 cm, followed by Sarahan and Shimla (4 cm each), Nagrota Surian and Karsog (3 cm each), Mandi (2 cm), and Berthin, Baijnath, Dharamshala, and Jogindarnagar (1 cm each).