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Updated: Aug 19, 2019 00:59 IST

At least 23 people have been killed since Friday across Himachal Pradesh as incessant rain continued to lash the state. Nine people died in Shimla while five deaths were reported from Solan.

Four members of a family, including two girls, were killed after a landslide buried them in Shimla on Sunday. They were identified as Diya, 18, Vishaka, 15, their father Haridas, 46, and mother, Krishna. Another unidentified person trapped under the landslide debris was rescued and is undergoing treatment.

A labourer from Bihar’s Kishanganj, Shah Alam, was killed and six were injured when a retaining wall collapsed and broke into their room following heavy rain at Shimla’s Lower Cemetery.

Kanth Singh, 70, and his granddaughter, Palvi, were killed when a wall of their house collapsed following heavy rain in Chamba’s Lona Gram. A similar incident claimed the life of 29-year-old Vicky in Baddi in Solan district. Vicky, who was from Bihar, was an employee of Dabur India Limited.

An unidentified man was killed after a landslide hit his truck on the national highway near Hatkoti Kenchi in Shimla’s Rohru subdivision.

In a similar accident, a driver from Punjab’s Zirakpur, Ajinder Singh, was killed after he was buried under a landslide at Swarghat in Bilaspur district.

Two Nepalese labourers, Arjun Budha, 19, and San Bahadur, 52, died and five others were injured when a tree fell on their makeshift house at Konthru near Narkanda in Shimla district.

A 22-year-old tourist from Telangana, Raghav, was killed after a boulder hit him in Balarga area in Kullu district. He was returning after a trek in Parvati Valley.

In Kullu’s Jibhi area, a man, Chunni Lal, was washed away in a swollen rivulet when locals were trying to rescue him.

Kullu deputy commissioner Richa Verma said as many as 25 tourists were rescued from a hill top in Bakrathach valley. The tourists, who were without a professional guide, were en route to Beas Kund and were trapped on the hill top.

Officials said as many as 887 roads, including 13 national highways, across the state are blocked fully or partially due to landslides. Traffic on Chandigarh-Manali national highway was blocked near Bilaspur town, leaving hundreds of commuters stranded. Traffic from Mandi to Kullu has been diverted through Kataula-Bajaura road as the highway along the swollen Beas river remained submerged.

A landslide hit Jarol near Sundernagar in Shimla district which disrupted traffic on the busy highway for several hours on Sunday morning.

The Kalka-Shimla highway was also damaged at several places. Traffic movement on the highway was hampered at Taradevi Chharabra and Fagu. A bridge near Kullu town was washed away due to flashfloods.

Over 1,000 people were stranded in Kodksar, Chhota Dara and Chandertal areas of Lahaul-Spiti and Leh-Manali highway because of landslides.

The heavy rain has also disrupted electric supply in Shimla. More than a dozen localities in the city were without electricity for several hours.

All educational institutions in Shimla, Kullu, Solan, Bilaspur and Sirmour will remain closed on Monday as heavy to extremely heavy rain continue to lash the state, district officials said. Authorities on Sunday issued orders to all schools, colleges, universities, and polytechnics asking them to remain shut.

“In view of heavy rains, blockages and damage caused to roads, it has become necessary to order closure of all educational institutions in Shimla district on August 19 for the safety of students,” Shimla deputy commissioner Amit Kashyap said.

The railway traffic on Shimla-Kalka, Jogindernagar-Pathnakot and Una-Nangal lines also remained disrupted.

Keylong, the administrative headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti, Chandertal and 3,978 metre high Rohtang pass experienced around 3cm snowfall on Sunday.

Highest rain in single day in 70 yrs

Meanwhile, the state received the highest ever rainfall in 24 hours, since records were kept almost 70 years ago, the IMD said in a statement.

The last time highest rainfall in 24 hours was recorded in 2011.

Shimla Meteorological Department director, Manmohan Singh, said, “Himachal received 102.5 mm of rain on August 18 which is 1,065% than normal, breaking the record of 74mm rain which the state witnessed in August 14, 2011.”