Rescue operations involving multiple agencies are underway in Jammu and Samba areas of the state. People whose properties were devastated in the flood are being rescued and rehabilitated. Until Thursday, four more people were swept away in flash floods in the region.
Jammu and Kashmir received record rainfall in the past two years, causing the death of 45 people, most of which occurred during a landslide on the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage route on Wednesday. A let-up in showers allowed relief operations to continue, however, this was short-lived.
“Operations to rescue and rehabilitate people, reconnect villages, and assess damages are ongoing across the region,” said the concerned official to the local media.
According to officials, four bodies were recovered from flooded water channels in Jammu. One body was pulled out of the Tawi river in Nagrota on Wednesday evening, while another body of an elderly man was retrieved from a nala in Marh. A separate body was recovered from water near the border fencing in the Kahola area of R.S. Pura, and another was found in the Teli Basti area of Bari Brahmana.
Teams along with heavy rescue machinery are at work in the low-lying areas to clear debris, mud, and stranded vehicles. Several roads remain blocked due to landslides. According to reports, connectivity to nearly 50 villages has been disrupted and more than 12,000 people have been evacuated from flood-hit areas so far. The water level in major rivers like Tawi, Chenab, Basantar, Ravi, and Ujh is slowly receding.
Damage to Infrastructure
Till now, the floods have caused extensive damage to public infrastructure, bridges, houses, and commercial establishments. Railways cancelled 58 trains to and from Jammu and Katra on Wednesday. A special train was arranged to ferry over 2,000 stranded passengers from Jammu. The death toll from the Vaishno Devi landslide in Reasi district has gone up to 34 after more bodies were retrieved from the debris. Officials suggest that 24 bodies have been identified, among them women, and at least 20 others are injured in the incident and are undergoing treatment in different hospitals.
The landslide occurred near the Bhojnalay at Ardh Kunwari, which is almost halfway on the 12 km route from Katra to the shrine. The landslide occurred around 3 PM on Tuesday. But this was only one rain-related mishap. In another rain-related incident, four people died in Doda district on Tuesday.
The body of a BSF jawan was recovered from Prawal, while another body was found in Akhnoor, which is still not identified. In Lakhanpur along the Punjab border, the body of an irrigation department employee was found.
All this started on August 14, when a cloudburst triggered floods in the last motorable village en route to Machail Mata in Kishtwar district. This incident left a trail of devastation with at least 65 people, mostly pilgrims, being killed in these floods and over a hundred injured. Almost 32 people still remain missing.