Residents of Jhelum embankments were requested to be alert and prepared for evacuation With intermittent rain continuing across Kashmir Valley, authorities today issued a flood alert in central Kashmir for low lying areas, including capital Srinagar, and asked people to stay alert and prepared for evacuation. Schools across the valley stayed closed today due to the weather conditions. "The gauge at Ram Munshi Bagh crossed the flood declaration of 18 feet and was flowing at 20.87 feet at 10 am," an official of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department said. He said the people living in areas along the embankments of Jhelum river and other streams and in low-lying areas of central Kashmir were advised to remain vigilant. "The staff deputed on flood duty in central Kashmir is directed to report to their sectors and beats," the official added. Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Syed Abid Rasheed Shah said the people living in low-lying areas and embankments of river Jhelum in Srinagar were requested to be alert and prepared for evacuation. "We have issued a flood alert for low-lying areas of Srinagar," he said. Authorities had yesterday issued a flood alert for south Kashmir, but today, water levels have started receding from there. While the water level at Sangam in Anantnag district at 10 am this morning was 23.06 feet - still above the critical mark - the water has started receding there. At 9 am the water level there was 23.16 feet. It has been raining in the Kashmir valley for the past three days and the downpour intensified in many parts, including Srinagar, yesterday. The rising water levels induced fear among the valley residents of a re-run of 2014 floods that caused widespread devastation and left over 300 dead. An official of the MET office said the weather was likely to improve today.

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