Water levels in all major and minor rivers and tributaries in Jammu and Kashmir rose sharply on Wednesday due to continuous rainfall over past 48 hours leading authorities to close schools in six districts to avoid any mishaps.

Meanwhile, Jhelum crossed the flood alarm mark Of 18-ft at Sangam in South Kashmir.

According to the Irrigation and Flood Control Department the water at Sangam gauge was 19.09-ft at 11a.m, some two feet below the flood declaration mark. At Ram Munshi Bagh in Srinagar the water level stood at 12.88-ft against the alarm mark of 16-ft and at Asham in Bandipora, Jhelum was flowing at 6.94-ft against the 13.5-ft alarm mark.

While authorities have setup helplines for the general public, low-lying areas in city are already facing waterlogging while sloppy mountainsides in the rest of the Valley are threatened by flash floods, mudslides.

Both Srinagar-Jammu highway and Mughal Road that connect Kashmir with the Jammu division are closed due to landslides and shooting stones.

On the other hand, schools up to secondary level have been closed by district authorities in Anantanag, Kulgam, Pulwama, Kupwara, Baramulla, Bandipora and Ramban. While in Shopian classwork up to 8th class has been suspended due to inclement weather.

The Meteorological (MeT) department has predicted a decrease in rainfall intensity as the day progresses and has advised people to stay away from sloppy nallas.

“Significant improvement from today’s forenoon. From June 23rd onwards, there is no forecast of any major rainfall till next one week. People are once again advised to travel on Srinagar-Jammu, Mughal Road, etc., only after confirming the Road Status from Traffic Police,” the MeT office advisory said.