IMD issues orange alert for Himachal Pradesh as heavy rains continue

The India Meteorological Department IMD has issued an orange alert for three districts in Himachal Pradesh warning of heavy rainfall as monsoon rains across the region The alert follows a week of widespread showers in the state reported ANIAccording to IMD officials several areas have already received significant rainfall in the past 24 hoursDuring the past 24 hours most parts of Himachal Pradesh received light to moderate rainfall said Sandeep Kumar Sharma Senior Scientist at IMD Himachal Pradesh while speaking to ANI in Shimla on FridayThe Chuwadi area of Chamba district recorded heavy to very heavy rainfall Kullu Bilaspur and Hamirpur experienced moderate rainfall he said reported ANIAs per the latest IMD data Chuwadi in Chamba registered the highest rainfall in the state at 57 mm Banjar in Kullu saw 52 mm of rain while Naina Devi in Bilaspur received 43 mm Several other regions received light rainfallAs reported by ANI Sharma said the ongoing trend is likely to continue across mid and lower hill areas of the state in the coming daysAn orange alert has been issued for Chamba Kangra and Mandi districts on August 1 due to the possibility of heavy to very heavy rainfall said SharmaA yellow alert has been issued for Kullu Bilaspur Una and Hamirpur districts for the same day he saidOn August 2 and 3 rainfall is expected in Bilaspur Mandi Solan Shimla and Sirmaur districts with yellow alerts in place he addedFor August 3 yellow alerts have been issued for Chamba Kangra and Sirmaur he saidRain activity is likely to intensify again on August 4 and 5 with rainfall expected across the entire state Sharma warned as reported by ANIOn August 6 heavy rainfall is expected at isolated places in all districts except LahaulSpiti and Kinnaur for which yellow alerts have also been issued he addedOn the overall monsoon trend so far Sharma said July witnessed nearly normal rainfall statewideIn the month of July rainfall was recorded at 237 which is close to normal However LahaulSpiti and Chamba districts received belownormal rainfall while the rest of the state experienced either normal or abovenormal precipitation reported by ANIMandi and Shimla districts saw a significant rainfall surplus for the month according to SharmaIn fact Mandi and Shimla districts recorded rainfall that was 70 percent above normal for the month he addedBetween June 20 and July 31 Himachal Pradesh recorded 1037 more rainfall than average Sharma confirmed However LahaulSpiti and Kinnaur districts remain in a rain deficit as reported by ANISharma also clarified how the IMD categorizes a cloudburstIf over 100 mm of rainfall is recorded in a particular location within one hour it qualifies as a cloudburst he saidLooking at the next 24 hours Sharma warned that some areas may face serious weather conditionsHe warned that a few locations in Chamba Kangra and Mandi districts may receive heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours raising the risk of localised flash floods reported by ANIThe IMD has assured continuous monitoring and communication with authoritiesThe IMD is closely monitoring the situation and updating alerts through the Mausam mobile app and official coordination with the administration Sharma saidVisibility is expected to remain poor in districts such as Shimla Solan and Sirmaur People are advised to drive cautiously in hilly terrain and adhere strictly to all state government advisories he added reported ANIAs the monsoon spell stretches further the state administration is keeping a close watch on vulnerable regions already impacted by earlier rounds of heavy rainInputs from ANI