J&K Landslides, Flash Floods Claim 30 Lives
Officials said several deaths have also been reported across the Kashmir Valley in the past 24 hours, though the exact toll is still being ascertained
SRINAGAR: The death toll from devastating landslides and flash floods triggered by torrential rains in the Jammu region, including near the revered Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Reasi district, has risen to 30, officials reported on Wednesday.
The severe weather has wreaked havoc across the Union Territory, damaging dozens of bridges, roads, houses, buildings, and other infrastructure. Most rivers and streams are flowing above danger levels, prompting authorities to close government and private offices and educational institutions in severely affected areas.
Officials said several deaths have also been reported across the Kashmir Valley in the past 24 hours, though the exact toll is still being ascertained.
Communication networks, including internet services, have been severely disrupted. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah posted on X early Wednesday, describing the near-total breakdown, with minimal data flow, slow apps, and limited WhatsApp functionality — comparing it to the connectivity crises of 2014 and 2019.
He said, “Still struggling with almost nonexistent communication. There is a trickle of data flowing on Jio mobile but no fixed line WiFi, no browsing, almost no apps, things like X open frustratingly slowly, WhatsApp struggles with anything more than short text messages. Haven’t felt this disconnected since the terrible days of 2014 & 2019.”
SSP Reasi Paramvir Singh confirmed the toll, stating, “Thirty people have lost their lives after heavy rains triggered a landslide near the Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra and other incidents.”
Rescue operations are underway in the shrine area, particularly near Inderprastha Bhojnalaya at Adhkwari, where a landslide struck around 3 p.m. Tuesday, halfway along the 12-km trek to the shrine in the Trikuta hills. The yatra was halted on the Himkoti routes Tuesday morning and fully suspended by 1:30 p.m. due to relentless rain.
In Kishtwar district, twin cloudbursts caused flash floods in the Margi area of Warwan valley on Tuesday evening, destroying at least 10 houses, crops across 300 kanals of land, livestock, and a bridge. Around 60 homes were inundated, forcing families to shelter under tarpaulin tents on nearby hillocks. With connectivity almost absent in the Warwan and Marwah valleys, locals sent distress messages requesting urgent rescue and relief. The remote valley, home to 40,000 people across 50 villages, remains cut off from Kishtwar’s district headquarters.
An official spokesman said the administration, in coordination with multiple agencies, safely evacuated over 3,500 residents in Jammu district alone.
Teams from the district administration, police, NDRF, SDRF, Indian Army, and local volunteers are carrying out evacuation and relief operations in the worst-hit areas while working to restore critical infrastructure and essential services.