SRINAGAR: Continuous rains in the last few days have flooded several low-lying areas of Kashmir Valley. The downpour also led to flash floods leading to the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. Weather officials said the situation has improved since Wednesday afternoon and there is no forecast of heavy downpour in the coming days.
Water level in Jehlum river at Srinagar crossed the danger mark of 18 ft at 6 pm while several other waterbodies in central, north and south Kashmir were flowing above the danger level. An official of the Flood and Irrigation Department said people living along the banks of Jhelum have been alerted to remain vigilant. A police official said 24 nomadic families living on the banks of Vaishow and Sunman nullahs were rescued by them.
A group of 14 trekkers is stranded near Tarser Lake in south Kashmir. A rescue team has been rushed to the spot to rescue the stranded trekkers. The authorities also rescued 24 tourists stuck near Sinthan Top road in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
The Srinagar-Jammu national highway has been closed for vehicular traffic after a major portion of the road at Samroli in Udhampur district was washed away by flash floods. Due to the closure of the highway, thousands of trucks are stranded on both sides of the highway.
Officials said it would take a few days to make the highway traffic worthy again. In a major relief, the rainfall has stopped in the Valley since Wednesday afternoon.
12 more die in Assam flood fury
Guwahati: Twelve more persons died in the floods in Assam on Wednesday. With these, the death toll in the rain-induced floods and landslides in the Northeast went up to 138 – 100 in Assam, 32 in Meghalaya and 6 in Arunachal Pradesh. Close to 54.57 lakh people are still affected in 4,374 villages of 32 districts in Assam