Jammu and Kashmir faced one of its worst weather disasters in recent years on Tuesday as relentless rainfall triggered flash floods, landslides, and widespread damage across the Union Territory, leaving at least 30 people dead and thousands displaced.
The most tragic incident occurred near the Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra, where a massive landslide buried pilgrims along the Adhkwari route, killing 30 and injuring 21 others. The pilgrimage has since been suspended, with visuals showing boulders and debris cascading down the Trikuta hills.
Catch live updates of the diaster unfolding in Jammu & Kashmir.
The deluge also wreaked havoc on infrastructure, bridges collapsed, electricity poles snapped, and mobile towers crumbled, leading to a near-total communication blackout across large parts of the region. Traffic on the Jammu–Srinagar and Kishtwar–Doda highways was halted, dozens of smaller hill roads were blocked, and several trains were cancelled or short-terminated.
The devastation comes less than two weeks after flash floods triggered by a cloudburst in Kishtwar’s Chisoti village killed 65 pilgrims heading to the Machail Mata temple and left more than 100 injured.
Apart from Katra, at least four people died in Doda district -- three after slipping into a river and drowning, and another in a house collapse.
Reports of heavy damage to both public and private property also poured in from Kishtwar, Reasi, Rajouri, Ramban, and Poonch. Officials have warned that the true scale of the disaster will only be known once ground assessments are complete.
Calling the situation “serious,” Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chaired an emergency meeting, directing district administrations to remain on high alert and releasing additional funds for immediate restoration works. He also ordered that food, water, and medicines be supplied to affected families without delay, with special focus on vulnerable groups.
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The heavy downpour has pushed most rivers above their danger levels. The Ravi river at Modhopur barrage in Kathua crossed the one lakh cusec mark, causing major flooding. Rivers like Tawi, Chenab, Ujh, and Taranah also breached warning levels, forcing repeated appeals by authorities urging people to evacuate to safer locations.
The Chenab River has been swelling dangerously as of Wednesday morning, raising fears of flooding in downstream areas.
Jammu city alone recorded over 80 mm of rainfall in less than 24 hours, while Kathua logged 155.6 mm, followed by Bhaderwah in Doda (99.8 mm) and Katra (68.8 mm), according to the IMD.
All schools across the Jammu division will remain closed today. The J&K Board of School Education postponed Class 10 and 11 exams scheduled for Wednesday, while a recruitment drive for constables in security forces was also suspended.
Further worsening the crisis, the road connecting the Fourth Tawi Bridge to Bikram Chowk in Jammu was washed away after the river, swollen by incessant rain, overflowed and eroded the stretch, disrupting traffic in the city.
Rescue operations by the Army, NDRF, SDRF, and local administration are underway, with hundreds of residents evacuated from submerged areas and housed in relief camps. Authorities have set up community kitchens and medical teams at temporary shelters.
The IMD has, meanwhile, warned of continued heavy rainfall with the risk of cloudbursts, flash floods, and further landslides until Wednesday. Doppler Weather Radar imagery from Jammu predicts severe thunderstorm activity over Jammu, RS Pura, Samba, Akhnoor, Nagrota, Kot Bhalwal, Bishnah, Vijaypur, and parts of Kathua and Udhampur.
Moderate convection, indicating light to moderate rainfall, was reported over Reasi, Ramban, Doda, Katra, Ramnagar, and Banihal.
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