Kashmir plagued by tremors, landslides and extreme weather

April 6, 2011 – KASHMIR – At least 11 houses and another dozen structures were damaged due to landslides caused by incessant rains in Baramulla district of north Kashmir today, officials said. Eleven residential houses and 12 cowsheds were partially damaged due to the landslides triggered by rains on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road in the villages of Checki Kudpora, Lateefabad and Kawhar in Sheeri, 65 kms from here, they said. The landslides also partially damaged orchards in these villages but there was no report of any casualty. Senior revenue and police officials have visited the landslide-hit villages to assess the damage, the sources said, adding that the affected population has been evacuated and has taken shelter at safer places. While high altitude areas of the Kashmir Valley including the famous ski resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam experienced moderate snowfall over the past one week, incessant rains lashed the plains including Srinagar. However, there was no immediate threat of floods in the Valley. The MeT department has predicted more rains or snowfall during the next six days in the Valley, much to the concern of the farming community which has started agricultural activities with the advent of spring. An intense cold wave gripped the Valley following the inclement weather as the mercury plummeted seven to eight degrees below normal for this part of the season. –The Hindu