In two separate incidents of landslide and cloudburst reported from Reasi and Ramban districts of the Jammu Division, at least 10 people have died. In the first incident of landslide reported from Reasi, seven members of a family were killed when the house they were living in collapsed due to incessant rains. In the second incident reported from Ramban district, three persons were killed and two were missing after a cloudburst triggered a flash flood in Rajgarh village early on Saturday morning.
The sudden cloudburst struck the remote mountainous area, around 25 km from Ramban town, washing away several residents. Rescuers have so far recovered three bodies, while search operations are underway to trace the missing. Authorities said the incident occurred in the early hours, leaving the village badly affected by debris and overflowing streams. Local administration, police, and disaster response teams have been rushed to the spot.
In a tragic incident triggered by heavy rainfall in the area, a landslide struck the Baddar area of Mahore in Reasi district, burying a kaccha house under debris. Seven members of the same family lost their lives in the mishap. The deceased were identified as Nazir Ahmed (38), son of Bahar Din, resident of Baddar, Wazira Begum (35), wife of Nazir Ahmed, Bilal Ahmed (13), son of Nazir Ahmed, Mohd. Mustafa (11), son of Nazir Ahmed, Mohd. Adil (8), son of Nazir Ahmed, Mohd. Mubarak (6), son of Nazir Ahmed & Mohd. Wasim (5), son of Nazir Ahmed.
Rescue operations were launched by locals, but unfortunately, none of the family members could be saved and extricated alive from the debris.
In the cloudburst incident reported from Ramban district, three persons, including two women, were killed and two others went missing after a cloudburst triggered flash floods in Rajgarh village. The sudden cloudburst struck the remote mountainous area, around 25 km from Ramban town, washing away several residents. Rescuers have so far recovered three bodies, while search operations are underway to trace the missing.
Authorities said the incident occurred in the early hours, leaving the village badly affected by debris and overflowing streams. Local administration, police, and disaster response teams have been rushed to the spot. Efforts are continuing to locate the missing persons as rescue operations remain hampered by rough terrain and strong water currents, officials added.
Too much of rains over the past few days all over the Jammu region have now created a new problem that the authorities are grappling to address. An acute shortage of drinking water in some areas of all the 10 districts. This has happened as the infrastructure for water supply, mostly located close to rivers and rivulets, have been extensively damaged. In view of this, the officials of the Jal Shakti Department have issued advisories requesting the citizens to conserve water and use it judiciously.
A public notice has been issued from the office of the Chief Engineer of Jal Shakti Department of Jammu saying: Due to the recent flash floods, the water supply system has been severely affected in several areas. While restoration works are being carried out on priority, temporary arrangements have been made to ensure availability of drinking water to the public.
To facilitate citizens during this period of disruption, area-wise officers have been designated as in charge officers. The public is requested to approach the concerned officer for their urgent drinking water needs. Dozens of names of engineers of the Jal Shakti Department have been appended to the public notice giving their names, designations and mobile phone numbers.
The 26 Division of the Army stepped in at the request of the civil authorities and constructed a 110 feet long bridge at Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu city on Friday evening. Part of the bridge and the approach road were damaged some days ago in heavy rains and traffic was disrupted. Since there was no chance of the bridge being repaired any day soon, the Army was approached and it has now restored connectivity.
Incidentally, there are forecasts that the weather will continue to be laced with spells of heavy rain, chances of cloudburst in some areas and other extreme events. The weathermen have cautioned the citizens to stay alert and avoid going near the banks of water bodies. For the next three days, up to September 2 evening, it is likely that the weather will not be clear.
Meanwhile, hundreds of trucks carrying goods to the Kashmir valley have remained stranded for the past five days on the National Highway 44 connecting Jammu to Srinagar. This is the result of many stretches of road caving in and despite hectic efforts, repair work has remained incomplete. So far, there are no reports of any shortages of goods in any parts of Kashmir but heavy rains during the past three days had at one time brought with them a threat of floods. Fortunately, the Jhelum river has started subsiding after submerging many areas in the Anantnag district.
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