Six persons were killed while about half a dozen were injured and over 400 structures damaged as heavy rain, wind and hailstorm created havoc across Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, hailstorm in Jammu, Samba and Kathua belt caused massive damage to the crops. The fresh snowfall in the hilly areas and hailstorm and rain in the region, a sharp fall in the temperature has been witnessed.
The streams and nallahs were flooded at several places while dozens of landslides blocked highways and inter-district and link roads. Jammu city witnessed heavy rain of the season during this evening. The drains, lanes and roads were flooded with water, affecting smooth movement of traffic.
“Over 150 houses and some school buildings were fully/partially damaged in district Ramban with windstorm since last night in the district,” Deputy Commissioner of Ramban, Baseer-ul-Haq said. He said majority of the damage has been reported from tehsil Khari, Banihal, Gool and Batote area.
Over 200 structures were damaged in gusty winds accompanied by heavy rainfall in Kashmir today while the hills, including ski-resort Gulmarg received snowfall.
An official said that 119 houses were damaged in four Tehsils of the districts, including 95 in Tehsil DH Pora, 6 in Devsar, 9 each in Kulgam and Pahaloo.
He said that in the Verinag area of Islamabad district, 42 structures were damaged due to gusty winds while 47 were damaged in Dooru Tehsil and around 15 in Qazigund Tehsil. Dozens of structures were also damaged in Shopian and Pulwama districts in the gusty winds.—KMS
