New Delhi, July 5 : The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a Red Alert for very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh on July 6, particularly in the districts of Kangra, Sirmaur, and Mandi. The forecast comes in the wake of an already challenging week marked by heavy rain and several cloudbursts that have claimed at least 69 lives and left 37 people missing in the hill state.

The Red Alert has been issued in anticipation of peak monsoon intensity on July 6 and 7. An Orange Alert has also been sounded for Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Chamba, Solan, Shimla, and Kullu districts, warning residents and authorities to remain on high alert.

The IMD's Shimla centre stated earlier on Friday that the state is likely to witness intense rainfall activity from Saturday to Wednesday (July 5 to 9).

In the last 24 hours, isolated locations experienced heavy rainfall, while several other parts of the state received light to moderate showers. Aghar recorded the highest rainfall at 7 cm, followed by Sarahan and Shimla (4 cm each), Nagrota Surian and Karsog (3 cm each), Mandi (2 cm), and Berthin, Baijnath, Dharamshala, and Jogindarnagar (1 cm each).

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, addressing the media on Friday, said the heaviest damage has occurred in the Seraj and Dharampur regions of Mandi district, where multiple cloudbursts have wreaked havoc on homes, fields, and infrastructure. The ongoing disaster has injured at least 110 people, he added.

In a significant relief measure, the state government has decided to provide Rs 5,000 per month as rent to families whose houses have been destroyed or rendered uninhabitable and who are now living in rented accommodations.

/IANS