The erratic weather conditions prevailing over the past two weeks in Jammu and Kashmir have caused massive destruction to infrastructure, religious institutions, orchards, and residential houses across North, South, and Central Kashmir.
On Thursday night, a hailstorm accompanied by gusty winds caused widespread destruction to orchards in multiple villages in South Kashmir. According to eyewitnesses and orchardists, hundreds of apple orchards were destroyed in the overnight weather fury. Orchard owners from several villages said a heavy hailstorm, which lasted just 10–20 minutes, left behind a trail of destruction in several areas of South Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the weather fury also caused massive damage to one of the largest religious seminaries in North Kashmir — Dar-ul-Uloom Rahimiya — after rain and gusty winds triggered mudslides that entered the premises of the seminary.
Besides this, residential houses suffered damage in the aftermath of the fresh weather disturbance that brought heavy rainfall, gusty winds, lightning, and thunderstorms, wreaking havoc across several parts of the Kashmir Valley over the past two weeks.
While there are no official estimates available about the destruction and losses caused by the weather fury, depending on the scale of the damage, the losses are estimated to run into hundreds of crores of rupees.
Meanwhile, similar weather conditions are expected to continue until May 26, after which the weather is likely to improve, according to earlier MeT Department predictions.
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