CHANDIGARH: Heavy monsoon rain triggered flash floods and landslides in Himachal Pradesh's tribal district of Kinnaur on the wee hours of Friday, disrupting road connectivity after debris blocked the Hindustan-Tibet Road (National Highway-5) near Cholling and damaged the Ribba-Kande link road. No casualties or injuries were reported.
A flash flood struck the Cholling area around 4 am after overnight rain caused the Miru Nallah to swell. Debris, boulders and slush covered nearly a 30-metre stretch of NH-5 near Cholling School, blocking traffic.
A JCB machine was deployed for restoration work, and the highway was reopened to all vehicles around 10 am.
The closure of NH-5, which connects Kinnaur with the rest of Himachal Pradesh and the Indo-Tibet border region, left long queues of vehicles stranded on both sides. Two vehicles were damaged after being caught in the debris, but all occupants were rescued safely.
In another incident, flash floods in the Ribba Khad damaged parts of the Ribba-Kande link road, disrupting connectivity. A few small vehicles were partially damaged, but no casualties were reported.
Meanwhile, 24 pilgrims stranded near a temple in the Bharmour subdivision of Chamba district were rescued. They had been stranded since Wednesday after flash floods washed away a temporary wooden bridge. A joint rescue operation by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), local administration, the mountaineering institute and the Public Works Department rescued them on Thursday.
According to the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), 49 roads remained closed across Himachal Pradesh on Friday evening, including 30 in Kullu, 10 in Chamba, three in Sirmaur and two each in Mandi, Una and Lahaul and Spiti. Three electricity transformers and 23 water supply schemes were also disrupted. So far, 12 people have died during this year's monsoon season.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the southwest monsoon has covered the entire region, with Punjab and Haryana receiving above-normal rainfall over the past three days.
The IMD has forecast widespread rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi till July 8, and isolated rainfall on July 9. A yellow alert has been issued for the region.
So far this month, Punjab has received 23 mm of rainfall against the normal 12.2 mm, while Haryana has recorded 11.9 mm against the normal 10.1 mm.