*** Rains, landslides kill 12 in Pakistan's Kashmir | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Rains, landslides kill 12 in Pakistan's Kashmir

Muzaffarabad : Heavy rains killed at least 12 people including women and children in parts of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, officials said Saturday, with landslides and collapsed roofs blamed for most of the fatalities.

Some 45 houses were reported damaged in different areas including Muzaffarabad, the regional capital, a local disaster management official Zaheer-ud-din Qureshi told AFP.

The deaths came during rains on Friday night with Muzaffarabad, Bagh and Abbaspur, Haweli and Kotli areas the worst hit, he said.

Local police confirmed the death toll.

Poorly-built homes, particularly in rural areas, are most susceptible to collapse during heavy springrains.

Severe weather hits the country every year, with hundreds killed and huge tracts of prime farmland destroyed in recent years.

During the rainy season last summer, torrential downpours and flooding killed 81 people and affected almost 300,000 people across the country and Kashmir.

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