Himachal Pradesh : The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert of heavy to very heavy rain from July 18 to 20 in various districts of Himachal Pradesh. The department has issued an orange alert for eight districts including Bilaspur, Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts. A yellow alert has been issued for Una district. The warnings have been issued by the IMD at a time when heavy rain has created havoc in the state and caused damage in many districts including landslides and flooding.IMD has issued a yellow warning for heavy rains, thunderstorms and lightning in the plains, low hills, and middle hills of the state.The yellow alert issued by IMD suggests that the bad weather could change for the worse, causing disruption in day-to-day activities. The orange alert warns people of extremely bad weather causing various disruptions including power cuts. Earlier the IMD in its forecast for the month of July said that most parts of the country will receive rainfall this month.On Friday, many areas of the state including Mandi, Shimla, Palampur, Nahan, Mandi and Dalhousie received rain. The state highway that connects Gramphu to Kaza remained closed for 15 hours due to landslides in Kinnaur after heavy rainfall.