Cloudburst damages crops, buildings in Jammu

Jammu: An cloudburst early Monday damaged buildings and crops in Ramban district of Jammu region.

"A cloudburst that occurred around 3 a.m. today (Monday) has damaged some buildings including a high school school, a health centre and some shops in Halla Dhrandrath area," an official of the district administration told IANS here.

"A large area of agricultural land has also been damaged by the cloudburst. The exact extent of damage is, however, being assessed." Cloudbursts have been hitting areas in Jammu and Kashmir with an alarming frequency during the past fortnight.

Six people were killed in multiple cloudbursts in Baltal, Sonamarg, Kulan, Gagangir and Razin areas of north Kashmir's Ganderbal district. One of these cloudbursts hit the Baltal base camp of Amarnath Yatra where three people were killed on Saturday.

Cloudbursts also occurred in other areas during this period in the districts of Kulgam, Shopian, Kupwara and Srinagar. Sonam Lotus, director of the local Met Office, has blamed the sudden rise of temperature in the state for this freak phenomenon.