Landslide buries car on Jeori-Sarahan road; snowfall, rain in higher reaches of Himachal

An empty vehicle was buried under debris after a landslide triggered by intermittent rainfall hit the Jeori-Sarahan road in Rampur area of Shimla district on Saturday, officials said.

They said several vehicles were parked along the road and one of them, a white Swift car, was hit by the landslide, blocking the road for a few hours. Authorities later removed the vehicle and cleared the road.

Intermittent rainfall and snowfall had caused damage to electrical wires and transformers in several areas but most of them have been repaired and power supply has been restored, officials said.

As many as 13 roads were briefly closed for vehicular traffic and 48 transformers were disrupted.

The weather office has issued a 'yellow' alert to urge people to be aware about possible thunderstorms and lightning on April 3 and 4 under a fresh western disturbance likely to hit northwest India from the night of April 2. It also predicted a wet spell in the hilly region till April 7.

The meteorology department has also cautioned people against damage to the apple crop and advised them to use anti-hail nets or install anti-hail guns.

Several areas in the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh — such as Shimla, Kinnaur, Kullu, Sirmaur, Lahaul and Spiti and Rohtang Top — received mild snowfall (up to 12.5cm). Other areas like Jalori Jot (7.5 cm), Nauradhar (6cm), south portal of Atal Tunnel (5cm), Khadrala (3cm), Chitkul (2.5cm) and Kufri (1cm) too received snowfall.

However, widespread rainfall lashed the state.

Solan and Renuka (42 mm) was the wettest area recorded in Himachal Pradesh.

Dharamshala and Pachhad received 38 mm of rainfall, Nahan 37 mm, Jubbal 35 mm, Rohru and Bijahi 32 mm each, Shimla and Manali 30 mm each. Dharampur received 31 mm of rainfall, Sangarh 29 mm, Sarahan and Rajgarh 28 mm each, Mashobra 26 mm, Gaggal, 23 mm, Palampur 21 mm and Narkanda 20 mm.

There was no significant change in the minimum and maximum temperatures. Keylong with 2.3 degree C was the coldest at night while Dhaulakaun with 24.7 degree C was the hottest during the day.