18 March,2024 07:47 PM IST | Ranchi | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Pic/File
Heavy rains lashed parts of Jharkhand including Ranchi on Monday afternoon and the inclement weather is likely to continue till March 21, a weather official said, reported the PTI.
According to the PTI, The Ranchi Meteorological Centre has also issued an alert of heavy rain coupled with gusty winds and thunder in some pockets of the state on Tuesday, the official added.
"The rainfall was triggered by an anti-cyclonic circulation that brought moisture from the Bay of Bengal and a trough that runs from Jharkhand to north coastal Andhra Pradesh," said Abhishek Anand, in-charge of Ranchi Meteorological Centre, the news agency reported on Monday.
Anand said Ramgarh received 22.5mm rainfall followed by Gumla (19.5mm), Ranchi (15mm) and Lohardaga (5.5mm) till 5.30 pm.
Gumla, Khunti, Ranchi, Lohardaga, Simdega and West Singhbhum might witness gusty winds up to 60 kmph coupled with rain and thundery developments on Tuesday, he said. Some parts of the state may also witness hailstorms, he added, as per the PTI.
Meanwhile, heavy rains, accompanied by thunderstorms, are likely to lash parts of Odisha over the next two days, the weather office said, the PTI reported.
An 'orange' alert was issued for Bolangir, Sonepur, Kalahandi, Boudh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Nayagarh, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Jajpur districts for Tuesday, asking them to remain prepared for heavy rains, the news agency.
A 'yellow' alert has been issued for Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Gajapati, Sundargarh, and Deogarh.
Forecasting thunderstorm with lightning on Wednesday, the regional meteorological centre in Bhubaneswar issued an 'orange' alert for Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Khordha, Nayagarh, Puri, Khordha, Kandhamal, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, and Koraput districts for Wednesday.
In an another incident, a landslide in Himachal Pradesh's Solan district on Monday morning brought traffic movement to a halt on the Shimla-Kalka national highway (NH5) near Shamlech village, officials said, the PTI reported.
They said no casualties were reported in the incident that occurred around 7.30 am near the Solan bypass.
Vehicles were seen stranded on both sides of the road and local police were initially asking motorists to turn back and take the Old Barog route instead.
The administration deployed excavators immediately after the incident and the road was subsequently cleared for vehicular traffic, the officials said.
A total of 259 roads, including five national highways, were closed for vehicular traffic in Himachal Pradesh following snow and rain in recent days.
A maximum of 237 roads were blocked in Lahaul and Spiti, nine in Kinnaur, five in Chamba, four in Kullu, two in Mandi, and one each in Shimla and Kangra districts, the state emergency operation centre said, according to the PTI.
(with PTI inputs)