Relentless rainfall across parts of Himachal Pradesh prompted authorities to shut all government and private schools, colleges and Anganwadis in Sirmaur and Solan districts on Friday, as the India Meteorological Department (MeT) warned of extremely heavy rain, flash floods, landslides and road blockages.
"Continuous rainfall is leading to obstruction of rural roads, increased risk of landslides and general disruption of normal life, particularly in rural and hilly areas. Such inclement weather conditions are likely to endanger the life and safety of students commuting to and from schools across the districts," two separate orders issued by Sirmaur and Solan Deputy Commissioners (DCs) Priyanka Verma and Manmohan Sharma, respectively, said.
Schools in Sirmaur's Paonta subdivision had already been ordered shut late on Thursday. On Friday morning, Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) of Nahan, Sangrah, Pacchad and Rajgarh also directed the closure of schools and colleges in their respective jurisdictions.
The MeT department said heavy to extremely heavy rain battered several parts of the state from Thursday evening.
Pachhad in Sirmaur recorded the highest rainfall at 207 mm, followed by Nahan (158.5 mm), Kasauli (145 mm) and Dharampur (136.8 mm).
Among other places, Solan received 113 mm of rain, followed by Palampur (109 mm), Jot (83 mm), Jubberhatti (72.9 mm), Dhaulakuan (70 mm), Paonta Sahib (62.8 mm), Kufri, Bharwain and Ghaghas (62 mm each), Shillaroo (60.1 mm), Shimla (58.8 mm), Kahu (56.8 mm) and Mashobra (55 mm).
The weather office warned that the spell of extremely heavy to very heavy rainfall could trigger landslides, flash floods, uprooting of trees and road blockages, posing a serious threat to life and public safety.
"Precautionary measures are being taken in the public interest to avoid any untoward incident and to safeguard precious human lives, especially those of school children," officials said.
In separate orders issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the Deputy Commissioners, who also head the District Disaster Management Authorities in the two districts, directed the closure of all government and private educational institutions and Anganwadis on July 10 as a precautionary measure.
The orders clarified that teaching and non-teaching staff would continue to attend duty.
Heavy rain also disrupted normal life in other parts of the state. Several roads in Sirmaur were closed, while 27 link roads in Shimla district remained blocked for vehicular traffic, according to the district disaster management authority.
In Shimla city, a wall collapsed in the Vikasnagar area, damaging two parked vehicles. In Brandli village, a house's retaining wall was damaged, while water entered the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) campus in Sunni, prompting evacuation efforts, officials said.