Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a series of snow avalanches and landslides in February.
Two lives were lost and 50 houses have been damaged in the natural disasters which made hundreds of people homeless.
It all began with the massive snow avalanche in Gulmarg. Two Polish skiers were killed in the incident. An operation was launched in which 21 were rescued.
Another tragedy followed on February 3, when a landslide occurred in the Doda district in Jammu. While no loss of life was reported, 21 structures including 19 residential houses, a Masjid, and a Madrasa were damaged.
On February 3, Kishanganga was blocked due to the avalanche in Gurez. luckily no loss of life or property was reported. However, the water supply to some villages was affected.
Another massive avalanche hit Afarwat Peak at Gulmarg on February 4. The tragedy was averted because of the prior warning by the disaster management and demarcation of the skiing areas,
On February 6, Ramban had to shift five families from a hilly hamlet Sujmatna in Ramsoo to a safer location after their residential houses developed cracks
In the same district, 13 houses and a road stretch of 200 meters were damaged in land erosion in on February 19.
On February 20. a landslide hit the Rezan area of Sonamarg. Ten houses, several shops, and four cowsheds were damaged in the incident.
On Feb 23, two residential houses and five shops were damaged after a landslide occurred in the Noorabad area of Damhal Hanjipora in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
January also witnessed the loss of lives and property in natural disasters.
On January 12, two laborers lost their lives in a massive snow avalanche in Sonmarg’s Sarbal area in which two laborers from Kishtwar lost their lives.
In the same month, a massive snow avalanche occurred along Zojila which led to the closure of the route.
Amid repeated avalanches, an official from the disaster management department said that the prior warning by them prevented the loss of lives.
“We have been constantly issuing snow avalanche warnings in highly avalanche-prone districts and the local administration was restricting the movement of people in these areas. The loss of lives was prevented by administration acting promptly on the advisories by our department,” he said.
