Two houses swept away, bridge damaged in flashflood near Manali, Leh highway closed
Narrow escape for villagers, who abandoned their houses adjoining Aakhri Nullah, after hearing thundering sound in the middle of the night; debris near Palchan bridge leads to closure of Manali-Leh highway.
A cloudburst in the upper reaches of the tourist town of Manali around Wednesday midnight triggered a flashflood in the Anjani Mahadev rivulet and Aakhri Nullah that swept away two houses downstream and damaged a bailey bridge at Palchan, leading to the closure of National Highway 3 that connects in Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh.
No casualty was reported, but a portion of a powerhouse was damaged in the incident, officials said on Thursday.
The Manali-Leh highway was closed due to the accumulation of debris at Snow Gallery near Palchan bridge and the tourist destination of Solang.
Villagers of Palchan, Ruad and Kulang had a narrow escape as they vacated their houses in time. Two houses were swept away, while one was partially damaged.
“We woke up to a thundering sound in the middle of the night and there was panic all around as people abandoned their houses and headed to safer places,” said Risha Devi, a block development committee member at Palchan.
“Villagers staying along the Aakhri Nulluh and Anjani Mahadev rivulet alerted residents of Palchan and Patlikhul over cellphone and this prevented any casualty,” she said, adding that farmland had been destroyed due to the debris.
The civil administration is assessing the damage.
Meanwhile, vehicles headed to Manali from Lahaul and Spiti via the north portal of the Atal Tunnel were diverted towards Rohtang, the Lahaul and Spiti police said in an advisory, asking commuters to travel only if necessary.
A total of 15 roads, including 12 in Mandi, two in Kinnaur and one in Kangra district, were closed for traffic, while 62 transformers were disrupted in the state on Wednesday night, the state emergency operation centre said.
The Indian Metrological Department has forecast light rain in Kullu, Mandi, Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, and Sirmaur districts.
Una recorded 68mm of rainfall on Wednesday followed by Dhaula Kuan at 44mm, Naina Devi 42.6mm, Dharamshala 35.4mm, Dalhousie 25mm, Shimla 24.8mm and Chamba 22mm.
The rain led to a drop in mercury with Kumkumseri in Lahaul and Spiti district recording the lowest temperature at 12.2 degrees Celsius.
