After reeling from days of scorching heat, moderate to heavy rains last night brought some relief to the people of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.
News agency GNS quoted Director Meteorological Department, Sonam Lotus, saying that rains occurred on expected lines and more were in store for both Kashmir and Jammu regions.
“As expected very heavy shower occurred at many places of plains of Jammu whereas moderate shower (has been) reported at many places of Kashmir and hilly area of Jammu,” he said, adding, “Today, the weather will remain overcast to cloudy at most places of J&K.”
Lotus said the rains may generate flash floods and landslides in hilly areas which may lead to road blockades.
A meteorological department official told GNS that Srinagar received 8.2mm of rain in 24 hours till 0830 hours and recorded a minimum temperature of 18.1 degrees Celsius against 22.8 degrees Celsius on the previous night.
Jammu recorded 150.6mm of rain, the highest across J&K, the official said.
He said that the winter capital of J&K recorded a low of 24.5 degrees Celsius against the normal of 24.8 degrees Celsius for this time of the year.
With 76.6mm, Katra witnessed the second-highest rainfall in J&K during the time and recorded a minimum temperature of 20.7 degrees Celsius against 21.6 degrees Celsius normal for this time of the year.
Batote recorded 25.4mm of rain, Kathua 24.8mm, Banihal 6.4mm, Bhaderwah 10.4mm, the official said.
In Kashmir valley, he said, Pahalgam received the highest rainfall of 23.0mm of rain followed by Gulmarg, the world-famous skiing resort in north Kashmir which had 13.6mm of rain and was the coldest place in J&K as it recorded a low temperature of 10.6 degrees Celsius against 11.8 degree Celsius normal for the area during this time of the season, he said.
Pahalgam, the famous tourist destination in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, recorded 14.8 degrees Celsius, the official said.
Qazigund, the gate town of Kashmir, received 5.2 mm of rain and recorded a low of 17.4 degrees Celsius while Kokernag had 7.4mm of rain and recorded a low of 15.7 degrees Celsius, he said.
Kupwara town received 9.7 mm of rain during the time and recorded a low of 19.2mm of rain, the official added.
Meanwhile, reports about flash floods due to cloudbursts were received in the Watlar area of Central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district as a result of which water seeped into many houses while orchards suffered damage. However, details about the exact damage were not known hitherto.
A cloudburst triggered a flash flood in Lar tehsil of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district on Monday, damaging residential houses and roads.
Reports said that several residential houses and roads were damaged in the Watlar area due to the flash floods in the wee hours today. However, there was no report of any loss of life in the incident.
An official said the police and SDRF personnel launched a rescue operation in the area to restore the road connectivity at the earliest.
