At least 10 people have been buried by mudslides and hundreds more have had to flee their homes after heavy rain triggered flooding in Indian Kashmir on Monday, police said.
Mudslides buried at least four houses in Chadoora, the worst hit area of the Himalayan region where hundreds were killed in devastating floods last September.
"Ten to 12 people have been buried under mudslides. A rescue operation is under way," Javid Mujtaba Gillani, inspector general of police for the region, told AFP.
Police said 237 families had been evacuated, most of them from Chadoora, around 15 kilometres (10 miles) west of the main city of Srinagar.
With more rain forecast for the next few days, authorities set up relief camps in Srinagar and issued an alert asking people living near the river Jhelum to move to safer areas.
A flood alert was issued early Monday after the river swelled to dangerously high levels.
Local media said the main highway had been closed, while schools were shut for the day and both school and university exams cancelled.
The 2014 floods killed around 300 people, left thousands more homeless and destroyed property and infrastructure worth an estimated $16 billion.
The government was accused of neglecting flood defences and faced criticism for its response to the disaster, with many parts of Srinagar still cut off days later.
Television footage at the time showed furious locals stoning army rescuers and helicopters carrying relief to flood-hit areas of the state.
The then chief minister Omar Abdullah defended his government's handling of the worst floods to hit the mountainous region in a century, saying no one could have foreseen the disaster's magnitude.
Abdullah's National Conference party was ousted in elections earlier this year, a result attributed in part to voter anger over the handling of the disaster.
About a dozen rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces since 1989 for independence or merger of the territory with Pakistan.
Although violence has declined during the last decade, the fighting has left tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, dead.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain in 1947, and both countries claim the Himalayan territory in full.
AFP
Mon Mar 30 2015
An Indian paramilitary soldier walks through a flooded street following heavy rains in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, March 29, 2015. - AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Berikut adalah berita yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Khamis, 15 Ogos 2024.
Tumpuan Jumaat – 16 Ogos 2024
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan di Astro AWANI.
PRK Nenggiri: Polis sahkan ada cubaan pengaruhi pengundi untuk tidak keluar mengundi
Polis mengesahkan bahawa ada pihak tertentu yang cuba mempengaruhi pengundi untuk tidak menunaikan tanggungjawab mereka pada Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Nenggiri, Sabtu ini.
Pasaran EV Malaysia berpotensi capai dua peratus menjelang akhir tahun - EON
EON mengunjurkan penembusan pasaran kenderaan elektrik (EV) Malaysia mencecah sehingga dua peratus menjelang akhir tahun, didorong oleh pelancaran model EV tambahan.
AADK sedia hadapi cabaran selepas RUU Akta Penagih Dadah 2024 diwartakan
Agensi Antidadah Kebangsaan (AADK) sudah bersiap sedia dalam segala aspek sejurus Rang Undang-Undang Akta Penagih Dadah (Rawatan dan Pemulihan) 1983 (Pindaan) 2024 diwartakan kelak.
MIDF unjur KDNK suku kedua 2024 Malaysia berkembang 6.1 peratus
MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd mengunjurkan pertumbuhan KDNK Malaysia bagi suku kedua 2024 pada sekitar 6.1 peratus tahun ke tahun, disokong oleh pertumbuhan kukuh sektor perkhidmatan.
Malaysia dijangka tarik pelaburan baharu dalam sektor tenaga dari Singapura dan Vietnam - Fadillah
Malaysia dijangka menarik pelaburan baharu dalam sektor tenaga dari Singapura dan Vietnam, kata Timbalan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
EU derma 215,000 vaksin cacar monyet ke Afrika - Suruhanjaya Eropah
Suruhanjaya Eropah mengumumkan bahawa pihaknya sedang menyelaraskan sumbangan lebih 215,000 dos vaksin cacar monyet kepada Pusat Kawalan dan Pencegahan Penyakit Afrika (Africa CDC).
Keldai akaun: Penglibatan pelajar IPT secara tidak sengaja, ditipu sindiket - KPN
Polis tidak menolak kemungkinan pembabitan pelajar IPT sebagai pemilik keldai akaun disebabkan mereka turut menjadi mangsa penipuan sehingga akaun bank mereka digunakan sindiket.