GILGIT: Avalanches blo­cked the Karakoram Highway and caused damage to many houses, cattle farms and thousands of kanals of fertile land in Diamer and Nagar districts of Gilgit-Baltistan on Tuesday.

Officials said no casualty was reported because the population had largely been moved to safe areas.

They added, however, that routine life was badly affected by continued rain and snowfall across the region.

An avalanche blocked the Karakoram Highway in Jaffarabad Nagar area.

No casualty reported as residents moved to safe areas

The avalanche caused damage to trees and vast tracts of land in the vicinity.

Efforts to reopen the highway have been launched.

A road leading to the base camp of the famous K2 mountain was blocked when an avalanche hit it near the Biangsa area of Shigar district.

The administration officials said another avalanche hit the Kachar lake, situated in Tangir area of Diamer district, causing the water in the reservoir to spill over and inundate the nearby cattle farms and fertile land.

They said the overflowing water damaged several roads and entered many houses in the vicinity. Fortunately the residents had already been moved to safe areas.

Gilgit-Baltistan’s Forest Minister Haji Mohammad Wakeel told reporters the lake was the main source of drinking water for residents of the area.

“This is one of the largest reservoirs in the region but it has now been damaged,” he said.

The minister said the region’s administration had launched rescue and rehabilitation work in the affected areas.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2016