Heavy widespread rain across Himachal Pradesh forced the closure of 313 roads on Wednesday as the weather department issued a yellow alert for isolated heavy rainfall until 18 August. Dhaulakuan recorded the highest short?period accumulation at 80.5 mm since Tuesday evening, followed by Jatton Barrage at 67 mm, Dharamshala 57.2 mm, Palampur 54.6 mm and Paonta Sahib 50.8 mm. Several lower readings were reported at Bajaura and Nahan as systems tracked across the region.

The State Emergency Operation Centre reported that 313 roads, 65 water supply schemes and 112 transformers were affected across the state by Wednesday afternoon, with restoration and assessment work under way. Mandi remained the worst hit district with 117 blocked roads, followed by Chamba with 74, Kullu 60 and Shimla 36. Sirmaur recorded 13 blockages while Kangra reported five, Una four and Kinnaur and Lahaul?Spiti two roads closed each.

On the previous day more than 200 roads had been shut following torrential showers and all schools and colleges in the Kullu subdivision remained closed as a precaution. Emergency services reported that one person was killed on the spot and two others were injured when a rock fell from the hillside onto their moving car in the Bhararighat area of Solan district, and local teams continued clearance and relief measures.

The state recorded 103.5 mm of rainfall against a normal 116 mm between 1 and 12 August, a deficit of 11 per cent for the period. Since the monsoon onset on 30 June a total of 70 people have lost their lives in rain?related incidents, including 14 in landslides and one in a flash flood, according to official tallies. Authorities and disaster response agencies continued monitoring vulnerable areas and conducting repair work while urging residents to follow advisories under the ongoing yellow alert.