The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an 'orange warning' for heavy to very heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand from August 22-24.
The meteorological agency also warned of a moderate risk of flash flooding in the basins of Chamba and Mandi districts, predicting rain to last until August 26.
Heavy rains can lead to landslides, and flash floods, and raise water levels in rivers and sewers, in addition to damaging crops, fruit trees, and seedlings, meteorology office officials said.
The mountainous states have seen massive devastation and death over the past few months due to unrelenting rains.
Four people, including two women and a 4-month-old baby, were killed Monday after a landslide in Chamba, Tehri district, Uttarakhand, police said. Senior police officer Navneet Singh Bhullaraid said four bodies have been found so far and another missing person search is underway.
He added that other vehicles could also be trapped when the landslide hit a taxi near the Chamba police station.
Meanwhile, the landslide blocked the New Tehri-Chamba motorway and the State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) deployed excavators to carry out search and rescue operations.
SCHOOLS CLOSED BETWEEN WEIGHT RAIN WARNING
All schools from grades 1 to 12 and anganwadi kendras in Bhilangana, Chamba, Narendra Nagar, and Jaunpur in Tehri district were closed on Tuesday due to heavy rain warnings in various parts of the state for the next two days.
Uttarakhand suffered heavy rains causing landslides and flash floods in many places. The meteorological service on Tuesday issued an orange warning in five districts of the state including Dehradun, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, and Bageshwar.
According to the hydrometeorological agency, these districts are likely to have heavy to very heavy rain, and other districts are likely to have moderate to moderate rain.
