Storm wrecks havoc in Handwara Trees, houses damaged

Danish Nabi

Handwara/Langate, July 27: Uprooted trees, blown up roof tops and broken fences of hundreds of houses lying on the roadside here in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district tells tale of destruction caused by 60 minutes of devastating wind which, the survivors say, was more horrifying than the 2005 earthquake.

The windstorm that started at 6PM on Sunday caused devastation in 39 villages in the district. The storm has damaged around 1200 houses including five completely destroyed ones. Forty persons were injured in the storm and one woman lost her life when a tree fell over her. Officially around 700 hectares of standing fruit crops were destroyed in the storm.

The most hit villages include Guloora, Chutipora, Kargam, Maratgaon, Kohru, Ranen Ashpora, Mawar, Langate, Pohru Chakla, Galoora, Bonagam, Lalbugh, Kargama, Chutipora, Hangah, Shathgund, Pandithpora, Hampora, Kulangam, Chogal, Braripora, Handwara town, Nutnusa, Vodhpora, and Wadipora.

Most roads were either partially or completed blocked by the trees and electric poles that were blown apart by the wind. The broken trees had blocked the road to Langate Tehsil and its far-off areas were completely inaccessible.

People were seen walking miles to reach Handwara as the transportation to Langate was suspended. The electric lines are down on the roads at most places and the power-supply to both the Tehsils has been cut off.

While many fruit trees were lying uprooted in the Orchards, around 70 per cent of the standing crops on the trees are damaged by the storm. The experts say the storm has damaged 30 per cent fallen crops of apple and walnut.

“The maximum damage to the crops is seen in Kulangam, Chutipora and Langate areas where 70 per cent standing fruits are damaged. The storm has degraded the quality of both the fallen and standing crops,” programme coordinator Krishna Vigyan Kendra Kupwara, Abdul Hameed Hakeem, told Greater Kashmir.

All along the way from Chowgal, visible traumatized people were clearing the rubble while the official machinery was nowhere visible. At many places rainwater had entered the houses, forcing the inhabitants to seek refuge elsewhere.

‘Our roof top was blown apart and the rain entered our houses damaging the entire furnishing of the house. We spent the night at our neighbor’s house,” said Aisha Lone, whose family has been living in the lawn.

The survivors said the windstorm let lose the hell for an hour that was followed by intense rain and hailstorm. “I haven’t seen anything like this before. At around 6 PM the wind started slowly and everything went dark. Within seconds it started blowing at full speed and it appeared everything will be blown apart,” said Bashir Ahmad War of Kulangam whose house’s roof top was blown off by the wind.

“It was more horrifying than the 2005 earthquake. When the windstorm hit here it appeared like a doomsday and we went searching for cover. There were noises of rooftops falling apart,” said Manzoor Ahmad of Chtipora. In Chutipora alone around 40 houses were damaged by the windstorm.

The survivors said they have been clearing the debris since last evening and they have been left on their own. “Till 10 PM Sunday we were clearing the debris. We started again this morning but no one came to our help,” said Muhammad Aslam. The people themselves had partially lifted the electric poles at many places to make way for the traffic.

People said they were still scared of going into the houses. “It was like a God’s providence and we fear there may be another storm. We feel secure outside the houses,” they said.