The hailstorm, which struck various areas on Friday evening and continued on Saturday , has severely damaged the blooming flowers in orchards, particularly in the apple-rich belt of Shopian

Heavy to moderate rains, accompanied by thunder and a damaging hailstorm, lashed valley starting Friday night, leaving behind a trail of devastation for orchard owners in south Kashmir.
Several parts of the valley experienced significant rainfall from Saturday afternoon, while the upper reaches, including Tulail in Gurez of Bandipora district, received fresh snowfall, prompting the administration to close schools up to the primary level.
The hailstorm, which struck various areas on Friday evening and continued today, has severely damaged the blooming flowers in orchards, particularly in the apple-rich belt of Shopian, according to growers.
“It sounded like stones raining,” said fruit grower Ghulam Nabi in Shopian while gesturing to broken branches and bare twigs.
“One storm, and my family’s income for the year has gone.”
In Shopian, Kashmir’s “apple bowl,” 80% families survive on orchards.
“The hailstorm ripped through villages like Keller, Trenz, and Pahnoo, striking at the worst possible moment: peak bloom season. For apple trees, blossoms are babies, the stage when flowers morph into fruit. The damage is deep. Orchards resemble battlefields: buds battered, branches snapped, ice sheathing the ground. Farmers who spent weeks, and thousands of rupees, on fertilizers and sprays now tally losses in crores. We’ve had storms before, but never during bloom,” said 62-year-old Farooq Ahmed.
The farmers are now trying to salvage what they can.
Ghulam Nabi’s sons scrape ice from soil, hoping to save roots. His wife worries about upcoming family weddings and school fees.
The fruit growers in Kulgam were also badly hit by the hailstorm. The severe hailstorm damaged the orchards, incurring losses to the growers.
Meanwhile, a severe windstorm accompanied by thundering hailstorms and heavy rainfall, caused destruction across the Kalakote sub-district of Rajouri, leaving dozens of families homeless and widespread property damage in its wake.
The worst-affected areas include Tehsil Kalakote and Mogla Block, where strong winds tore through the region.
“Some houses with tin-sheet roofs were unable to withstand the storm’s intensity. Almost 100 homes have reportedly been destroyed, and some school buildings have suffered roof damage, according to additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Kalakote, Tanveer Ahmed.
“Many poor families in these areas had built their houses with limited resources. The iron sheet roofs have been blown away, and all their household belongings have been destroyed,” said ADC Tanveer Ahmed.
The administration has constituted many teams for rescue operations in Block Mogla, Kalakote sub-division.