GILGIT: At least four homes were completely destroyed and 40 partially damaged in Diamer’s Tangir Valley as a result of two lake outbursts, officials said on Saturday.

According to locals, an avalanche suddenly fell in the Gichhar and Labar lakes on Saturday morning, causing the outburst.

The high discharge of water from the lakes caused flooding in nullahs, resulting in a disaster downstream.

However, no loss of life was reported, as per the officials.

Under the supervision of Diamer Deputy Comm­issioner Fayyaz Ahmed, the district administration delivered relief items including food, water, coats, blankets, tents and other essential goods to the affected people.

Almost all areas in GB have seen intense cold weather throughout the past week with continuous snowfall and below 0°C temperatures. According to the Met Department, the temperature in Astore was -6°C and -5°C in Skardu on Saturday.

Meanwhile, as climate change affects the ecosystem, the threat of lake outbursts in GB has heightened in the recent past as glaciers in the region were melting faster than before.

Glaciers in the Himalayas, Hindu Kush and Karakoram mountain ranges have melted rapidly, creating thousands of glacial lakes in the country’s northern areas.

In May 2021, a lake outburst from the Shisper Glacier swept away Hunza’s iconic Hassanabad bridge on the Karakoram Highway.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2023