Met warns of extremely heavy rains in 7 districts of Himachal on Jul 8, 9

The meteorological department office here issued a red alert for seven districts of Himachal Pradesh, warning of extremely heavy rainfall on July 8 and 9.

Under the influence of an active western disturbance, intense spells of extremely heavy rainfall are likely at isolated places in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Una, Hamirpur and Bilaspur districts on July 8 and 9, it said in a statement.

A red alert of extremely heavy rains implies the possibility of more than 204 mm of downpour in a day.

An orange warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall has also been issued for Shimla, Sirmaur, Solan and Lahaul and Spiti for July 8 and 9. The Met has predicted a wet spell in the state till July 13.

The weather office also cautioned about the possibility of flash floods along water bodies in Kangra, Chamba, Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Sirmaur, Solan and Una districts, and a disruption of water, power and communication facilities in the low and mid hills.

There could be occasional reduction in visibility due to heavy rainfall and people have been advised to avoid areas that face waterlogging problems.

The river Beas and its tributaries were reported flowing above the danger mark. As many as 91 roads are closed for vehicular traffic and 73 water supply schemes and 69 transformers were disrupted due to rains.

So far, Himachal Pradesh has suffered a loss of Rs 352 crores during this monsoon season, as per the state emergency operation centre.

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