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
Isu stoking: Pengarah KK Mart, isteri akan kemuka representasi kepada AGC
Pengarah KK Mart yang berdepan dua pertuduhan melukakan perasaan orang Islam dalam isu berkaitan penjualan stoking tertera kalimah Allah akan mengemukakan representasi kepada Jabatan Peguam Negara.
Inisiatif IHH Healthcare lancar pemasangan panel solar wajar jadi contoh - Fadillah Yusof
IHH Healthcare Malaysia mencatatkan pencapaian baharu dengan melancarkan inisiatif pemasangan panel solar di seluruh rangkaian hospitalnya sekali gus menjadikannya pelopor.
Che'gu Bard akan didakwa di Johor Bahru esok
Che'gu Bard berkata, ia dipercayai berhubung kenyataannya mengenai isu kasino di Forest City, Johor.
Ahmad Zahid ucap tahniah kepada Farah Ain
Ahmad Zahid mengucapkan tahniah kepada atlet boling padang Nor Farah Ain Abdullah yang muncul juara pada Kejohanan Boling Padang Dalam Dewan Dunia 2024.
Raih RM31 juta sejak ditayangkan! Sheriff kini filem no. 1 di Malaysia
Berita gembira ini turut disokong oleh abang Syafiq, Syamsul Yusof yang turut bangga dengan kejayaan naskhah yang dihasilkan adiknya.
Letupan bom Sungai Golok: PDRM tingkat kawalan keselamatan sempadan Malaysia-Thailand
PDRM mempertingkatkan kawalan keselamatan di sempadan Malaysia-Thailand susulan insiden letupan bom dan bunyi tembakan di Sungai Golok.
Pemain ragbi meninggal dunia selepas perlawanan pasukan pilihan MB Kedah
Seorang bekas pemain Sukma Kedah meninggal dunia selepas menyertai perlawanan pertunjukan pasukan pilihan Menteri Besar Kedah pada Ahad.
OCC: Masih banyak usaha perlu dibuat dalam isu hak kanak-kanak
Masih banyak yang perlu dilakukan kerana Malaysia masih ketinggalan berbanding negara lain dalam menangani isu penderaan dan masalah sosial melibatkan kanak-kanak.
iPad Pro mungkin dijana dengan cip Apple M4 terbaharu, fokus ciri AI
Cip Apple M4 dijangka memfokuskan kepada keupayaan enjin neural yang disertakan bersama dengannya membolehkan ia menawarkan ciri AI yang lebih baik.
Lebih 840,000 permohonan untuk London Marathon 2025 pecah rekod dunia
Jumlah permohonan untuk menyertai larian TCS London Marathon tahun depan telah memecahkan rekod dunia.