Windstorms kill one, leave 1,300 houses damaged in Kashmir

INDIA: Severe windstorms left a young woman dead, injured dozens and damaged around 1,300 houses in the northern parts of revolt-hit Indian-ruled Kashmir, officials said Monday.

The windstorms that swept across northern districts of Handwara and Langate late Sunday also left thousands of homes without power, an official statement said.

Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Monday visited the affected areas and ordered immediate relief for the victims.

He was informed by the local officials that a 22-year-old woman was killed and 40 other residents were hurt.

"One thousand three hundred residential houses were partially or fully damaged by the windstorm that created havoc in some 39 villages," the statement said.

The high-speed winds also flattened fruit trees and crops. Emergency services were called out to clear fallen trees and debris.

Indian Kashmir is in the grip of a 20-year old insurgency that has so far left more than 47,000 people dead by official count.

Srinagar, Tuesday, AFP