An avalanche hit a village in Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh in the early hours of Sunday, obstructing the flow of the Chenab river and triggering an alert in the adjoining areas, officials said.

Heavy snow and rainfall in the last two days have triggered more than half-a-dozen avalanches and landslides in Himachal Pradesh, leading to the closure of over 650 roads, including five national highways, they added.

No casualty has so far been reported in any of the avalanches, the officials said.

The flow of the Chenab was obstructed following an avalanche at the Dara waterfall near Jasrat village in Lahaul and Spiti. The district, located at a high altitude, reported heavy snowfall in the last 24 hours.

The residents of the adjoining villages of Jobrang, Rapi, Jasrath, Tarand and Tharot have been advised to stay cautious and inform the nearest police post in case of an emergency, Superintendent of Police (SP), Lahaul and Spiti, Mayank Chaudhary said.

Some shops were buried in an avalanche at the Tandi bridge in Lahaul sub-division.

Multiple avalanches occurred in Lahaul and Spiti at the Seli nallah in Rashel village, Faldi nallah in Jobrang, Cho Veer Mod in Lohni and Tatha nallah near Udaipur village.

An avalanche was also reported from a location near the Karcham helipad in Sangla in Kinnaur district, the officials said.

A total of 652 roads, including five national highways, are closed for vehicular traffic in the hill state.

The maximum of 290 roads are closed in Lahaul and Spiti, followed by 149 in Shimla, 100 in Chamba, 75 in Kinnaur, 32 in Kullu, five in Mandi and one in Kangra, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre.

People have been advised not to travel to the upper Shimla areas as the roads have become slippery due to snowfall, Shimla Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap said.

He said work is underway to clear the blocked roads and resume traffic movement.

Life was thrown out of gear in parts of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur and Chamba as heavy snowfall disrupted electricity and communication. As many as 1,749 transformers are out of service in the state and 78 water supply schemes disrupted, according to the emergency operation centre.

Three houses, one each in Lahaul and Spiti, Solan and Sirmaur, were damaged due to snow, rain and lightning. The supply of essential commodities, such as milk, bread, vegetables and newspaper, was affected in the upper Shimla region.

According to a bulletin issued by the meteorological department here, Rohtang received the maximum snowfall in the state in the last 24 hours, measuring 150 cm.

Chitkul and Atal Tunnel recorded 120 cm snow, Solang 75 cm, Khadrala 62 cm, Kalpa, Kaza and Moorang 60 cm each, Sangla 52.5 cm, Nichar and Gondla 45 cm each, Keylong 28 cm, Narkanda, Killar, Udaipur, Sissu, Koksar and Chansel 30 cm each, Reckong Peo 15 cm, Shillaro five cm and Kufri two cm, the bulletin said.

Intermittent rain lashed several parts of Himachal Pradesh and Manali, which recorded 88 mm rain, was the wettest in the state, followed by Nahan (84 mm), Pachhad (76 mm), Sarahan (70 mm), Kangra (65 mm), Rampur (64 mm), Rohru (60 mm), Kotkhai (56 mm), Dharamshala (55 mm), Dalhousie and Guler (53 mm each) and Chamba (50 mm).

State capital Shimla received 35 mm rain, according to the bulletin.

Keylong was the coldest place in the state, recording a minimum temperature of minus 4.5 degrees Celsius. 
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Shimla:

The India Meteorological Department Himachal Pradesh on Saturday forecast light rain and snow in higher reaches in the state after October 31.

The weather in Himachal Pradesh will be pleasant during the next week. The air quality index will also be normal in the region, according to IMD, Himachal Pradesh.

“The weather will be clear. There is wind approaching in Himachal Pradesh on October 31st, and in the first week of November, there will be chance of snowfall in the region. A fresh western disturbance is approaching on October 31st in the region, and there will be snow in the higher reaches and rain in other parts of the state. But this will not have a major effect, as the weather is expected to be clear in the region during the next five days. The air quality is normal; there is turbulence in the air, but the air quality will remain normal in the state,” said Surender Paul, head of IMD HP.

Meanwhile, with the quality of air in the plains of North India now reaching the ‘poor’ category, tourists from Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and other neighbouring areas are heading towards the hill state of Himachal Pradesh where even the highest AQI comes under ‘moderate’ category.

Except for Solan, where the AQI is under the ‘moderate’ category, the Air Quality Index in tourist destinations of Himachal Pradesh is under the ‘good’ category including Shimla, which recorded an AQI of 34 on Wednesday.

While the AQI stood above 300 in at least 13 pollution hotspots in Delhi on Tuesday, Manali recorded the lowest AQI (6), followed by Kullu (7) and Dharamshala (15) on Wednesday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)