SRINAGAR: In rain-battered Jammu and Kashmir, over 150 people have lost their lives in cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides triggered by relentless heavy rainfall over the past fortnight. Infrastructure, including bridges, roads, and residential houses, has suffered extensive damage amid the severe weather conditions.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who arrived in Jammu on Sunday evening for a two-day visit, is scheduled to tour the flood-affected and cloudburst-hit areas in the Jammu region on Monday. He is expected to interact with victim families and may announce a special relief package for those impacted by the natural calamity.
Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the Jammu region, has witnessed record downpours in August, resulting in widespread devastation. Heavy rainfall has led to multiple cloudbursts, flash floods, mudslides, and landslides across various districts in the region.
The first major incident occurred on 14 August, when a cloudburst struck Chesoti village in the mountainous Kishtwar district, en route to the Mata Machail temple. Over 100 people were killed in the flash floods triggered by this cloudburst. While the bodies of 68 victims have been recovered, 32 remain missing. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police, army, Border Roads Organisation (BRO), and civil agencies continue search operations to locate the missing.
Three days later, on 17 August, cloudbursts hit Jodh Ghati and Janglote villages in Kathua district, killing seven people and injuring over a dozen others.
On 26 August, a massive landslide near Inderprastha Bhojnalaya at the Adhkwari cave temple, on the route to the Vaishno Devi shrine, claimed 34 lives, mostly pilgrims, and left 23 others injured.
On 30 August, another landslide triggered by torrential rains hit Karada village in Badar area of Reasi district, killing seven members of a single family, including five children. That same night, a cloudburst struck Gadgram village in Rajgarh, Ramban district, on the Srinagar-Jammu highway, leaving four people dead and one woman still missing.
Director of the Meteorological Department, Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, warned that such cloudburst events are likely to become more frequent, intense, and severe in future due to climate change and global warming.
A cloudburst occurs when a large volume of moisture-laden air rapidly cools and condenses, releasing intense rainfall over a short period, typically within 1 to 2 hours. These are highly localised and difficult to predict.
Climate expert Abida Deva explained that the Kashmir Himalayas are particularly vulnerable to such phenomena due to the convergence of two weather systems: Western Disturbances and the southwest monsoon, which bring moisture from the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. “Moisture-heavy winds rise quickly and collide with the Himalayas, forming dense clouds. When these clouds become too heavy, the atmosphere cannot hold them, leading to a sudden collapse, what we know as a cloudburst,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has forecast more rainfall across several Jammu districts until 2 September. A warning has been issued for potential cloudbursts, flash floods, landslides, mudslides, and shooting stones in vulnerable areas.
Residents have been advised to avoid water bodies, riverbanks, nallahs, and unstable structures.
