Jammu and Kashmir floods toll rises to 10

Srinagar: The toll in the Jammu and Kashmir floods rose to 10 Thursday as incessant rain, which is likely to continue till Saturday, wreaked havoc in parts of the state.

Four people were killed late Wednesday - two were washed away in flash floods in Poonch district of Jammu region, while two died in landslides triggered by flash floods in Badgam district of the Kashmir Valley.

Local Met Office Director Sonam Lotus told IANS that more rainfall is expected in the state till Saturday.

"We are expecting a decrease in precipitation after Saturday evening," he said.

Earlier Wednesday, five members of a family were killed in a landslide in Reasi district of Jammu region, while a BSF inspector was killed in a bunker collapse on the LoC in Poonch district of the same region.

An alert has been sounded in Kulgam, Anantnag, Pulwama, Baramulla, Shopian, Srinagar, Ganderbal, Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi, Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts.

Both the Srinagar-Jammu and the Srinagar-Leh national highways have been closed.

Schools, colleges and other educational institutions in Srinagar, Pulwama, Kulgam, Anantnag and Shopian districts of the Valley have also been shut Thursday.

Scores of villages, especially in south Kashmir areas, have been inundated with flood waters as police assisted by the army shifted families to safer places.

Seven labourers have been trapped by flood waters of Ferozepur stream in Kunzar (Tangmarg) area of Baramulla district. These labourers were working at a stone crusher, a senior police official told IANS.

"Efforts to rescue the trapped labourers by a helicopter could not take place Wednesday evening due to inclement weather. We plan to launch the aerial rescue today (Thursday)," the officer said.

Flood waters entered Srinagar city's bone and joint hospital in the Barzalla area when it breached the embankment of the Doodh Ganga channel.

Flood waters and water logging due to inadequate drainage also inundated Safa Kadal, Eidgah, Nowshehra, Soura, Residency Road and several others areas in the city.

Authorities said the water level of the Jhelum river was on the rise.