Shimla, Aug 31 (PTI) All government and private educational institutions have been closed in Shimla and Bilaspur districts of Himachal Pradesh after the local meteorological centre issued a red alert for very heavy to extremely heavy rains in four to six districts of the state from Sunday to Tuesday.
Himachal Pradesh has received 72 per cent excess rain in August 2025, data showed.
Landslides and flash floods have wreaked havoc in many parts of the state, leading to the closure of 666 roads on Sunday morning. This included three national highways — the Old Hindustan Tibet Road, Mandi-Dharampur Road, Hatkoti to Paonta road and the Aut-Sainj Road.
The Met office has forecast very heavy to extremely heavy rains accompanied by thunderstorms at isolated places in Una, Bilaspur, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur on Sunday and warned of landslides, flash floods, land subsidence, water-logging and swelling of water bodies.
Six houses were completely damaged while about 15 others were partly damaged due to a land subsidence following heavy rain in Dalit Basti of Chabutra village, about 12 km from Hamirpur town towards Sujanpur.
Nearly 120 affected people have been shifted to a nearby panchayat ghar and Satsang ghar, while some have taken shelter at their relatives’ homes, officials said.
Heavy to extremely heavy rains are likely in isolated places in Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi and Sirmaur on Monday and Chamba, Kangra, Kullu and Mandi on Tuesday, according to weather officials.
The state received 440.8 mm of rainfall against the season’s average of 256.8 mm. The excess was more than 100 per cent in five districts, namely Kullu (162 per cent), Shimla (126 per cent), Una (121 per cent), Solan (118 per cent) and Chamba (104 per cent).
The Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, Anupam Kashyap, on Sunday evening ordered the closure of all government and private educational institutes, including coaching centres and nursing institutes, throughout the district on Monday (September 1) under the Disaster Management Act.
District Shimla has been experiencing continuous rainfall for the past few days. The heavy downpour has resulted in landslides, uprooting of trees and subsequent road closure. Moreover, as per the MeT, Shimla is expected to receive heavy downpour for the next 24 hours, the order said. Similar orders have been issued in Bilaspur district.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who reviewed the situation, urged the people to exercise caution and extend cooperation in helping affected people as the Met department has issued a heavy rainfall alert for the next three days and several parts of the state are currently experiencing torrential rains.
“Nearly 15,000 Manimahesh pilgrims have already started their journey back home on foot from Bharmour and nearby routes, ” said BJP MLA from Bharmaur Janak Raj in a statement issued here, adding that the official death toll is 11 so far and the situation will be clear in the coming days.
The Manali-Naggar-Kullu road was obstructed following flash floods on Naitar and Bhagh streams, officials said, adding that restoration works are underway.
Rainwater entered some houses in Sujanpur in Hamirpur district, reports reaching here said.
A few vehicles were buried under debris in different parts of Shimla city while a car was damaged when an electricity pole fell on it. The power supply was snapped in the adjoining areas.
In the past 24 hours between 6 pm on Saturday and 6 pm on Sunday, Malraon received 90 mm of rain followed by Naina Devi 82.8, Bhattiyat 75.2 mm, Brahmani 73.4 mm, Olinda 66.2 mm, Nahan 60 mm, Kufri 59.5 mm, Jogindernagar 59 mm, Jubbarhatti 58.2 mm, Una 57.6 mm, Solan 55.6 mm, Shimla 50.2 mm and Kangra 45 mm.
From the onset of monsoon in the state on June 20 to August 30, Himachal Pradesh has witnessed 91 flash floods, 45 cloudbursts and 95 major landslide incidents.
As many as 985 power transformers and 495 water supply schemes have been disrupted, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).
The state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 3,056 crore this monsoon, and 320 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents, SEOC data showed. As many as 4,098 houses have been fully or partially damaged. PTI BPL RT RT
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