SRINAGAR, Jul 22 : Heavy rains pounded parts of Jammu and Kashmir along the Line of Control (LoC), unleashing flash floods and landslides that damaged infrastructure and killed a schoolchild, officials told Anadolu on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The hilly districts of Rajouri and Poonch saw rivers and streams swell, inundating low-lying areas, washing away vehicles, and damaging buildings.<\/p>\n
Vikas Kundal, a senior official in Poonch, said a landslide struck a school, killing one child and injuring at least 23 others.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are taking every possible measure to safeguard lives and have advised people from low-lying areas to move to safe places in view of the risk of flash floods,\u201d Kundal told Anadolu. \u201cWe have deployed teams of emergency and relief, including medical teams, to reach affected areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
In neighboring Rajouri, authorities ordered schools closed after rising water levels in the Dharhali and Saktoh rivers posed further danger.<\/p>\n
A red alert has been issued in 12 districts \u2014 Kathua, Samba, Udhampur, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Reasi, Jammu, Rajouri, Poonch, Baramulla, and Anantnag \u2014 due to expected heavy rainfall and heightened risk of flash floods, officials said.<\/p>\n
The Indian Meteorological Department in Srinagar had already issued an alert for July 21\u201324 warning of heavy rain with risks of flooding and landslides.<\/p>\n
The region has increasingly seen erratic weather patterns in recent years, with intense heat waves and untimely showers amplifying climate-related disasters.<\/p>\n
Ajaz Rasool, an environmental expert, told Anadolu that Kashmir \u201cis no exception\u201d to the global impacts of climate change.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is due to various stress factors including the unnecessary human activity on ecologically fragile zones which definitely has an adverse effect,\u201d Rasool said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow it is to time to act strategically to save our environment rather than waiting for disasters to happen,\u201d Rasool cautioned.<\/p>\n
This year also recorded the hottest June in the region since 1978.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SRINAGAR, Jul 22 : Heavy rains pounded parts of Jammu and Kashmir along the Line of Control (LoC), unleashing flash floods and landslides that damaged infrastructure and killed a schoolchild, officials told Anadolu on Tuesday. The hilly districts of Rajouri and Poonch saw rivers and […]<\/p>\n
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