The relentless downpour, ongoing since Monday evening, has caused severe destruction, submerging infrastructure, washing away bridges, and paralyzing connectivity across the region
By PC Bureau
Torrential rains have unleashed unprecedented havoc across the Jammu region, claiming at least 34 lives, including 30 pilgrims en route to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, and injuring over two dozen others in a series of landslides, cloudbursts, flash floods, and house collapses in the last 24 hours.
The relentless downpour, ongoing since Monday evening, has caused severe destruction, submerging infrastructure, washing away bridges, and paralyzing connectivity across the region.
Telecom services collapsed in large parts of the union territory, leading to millions being cut off from communication and escalating problems.
Traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar and Kishtwar-Doda national highways was suspended and dozens of hill roads were blocked or damaged by landslides, authorities said. A total of eighteen (18) trains to and from Jammu and Katra were cancelled.
The Tawi River in Jammu surged to a staggering 17 feet above its danger mark by Tuesday evening, while the mighty Chenab River breached its 35-foot danger threshold at 3 PM, escalating to 44 feet by 6 PM and reaching a record-breaking 49 feet by 11 PM—13 feet above the danger mark and surpassing the previous high set in 2014.
Other rivers, including Basantar and Devak in Samba, and Ujh, Ravi, and Tarnah in Kathua, were also swollen, flowing 3 to 6 feet above their danger levels. Numerous seasonal nallahs across Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur, Reasi, Rajouri, Ramban, Kishtwar, and Doda were in spate, exacerbating the crisis.
Dr. Mukhtar, Director of the Meteorological Department in Srinagar, reported that Jammu recorded an extraordinary 248 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 5:30 PM on Tuesday, shattering a 99-year record set on August 5, 1926, when 228.6 mm was recorded. Other areas also faced extreme rainfall, with Katra recording 190.6 mm, Reasi 175.5 mm, Samba 148.5 mm, Kathua 104 mm, Udhampur 101 mm, Doda 133 mm, Kishtwar 49 mm, Ramban 43 mm, and Banihal 50 mm during the same period.
The continuous heavy rain triggered widespread destruction, including the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, Batote-Doda-Kishtwar, and Mughal Road, alongside dozens of other roads due to multiple landslides and mudslides.
Over 5,000 vehicles remain stranded between Jammu and Srinagar, with key stretches like the Dhar Road Udhampur-Manwal and Samba-Mansar Road rendered impassable.
At several locations, roads have sunk, and restoration efforts have been hampered by ongoing rainfall.
Critical infrastructure has also been severely impacted. Three bridges over the Tawi River in Jammu and the Devak bridge at Vijaypur were damaged. A portion of the approach road to the fourth Tawi bridge near Ware House in Jammu collapsed, causing three to four vehicles to fall into the damaged section, resulting in minor injuries to three people. Police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams promptly closed the upper tube of the bridge to prevent further incidents.
Similarly, a middle pier of the Devak bridge near AIIMS Vijaypur on the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway tilted due to heavy flooding in the Basantar River, leading to the suspension of traffic and the diversion of vehicles to an alternate bridge.
A bridge over the Chenab at Drabshalla in Kishtwar was washed away, and another near Ped Devta over the Tawi was badly damaged.
In Kathua, the second bridge over Sahar Khud was closed to heavy vehicles after fresh floods exposed its northern embankment, undermining recent repair work.
A devastating landslide struck the pilgrimage route to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop the Trikuta hills in Katra at around 3 PM on Tuesday, killing at least thirty pilgrims and injuring 23 others near Inderprastha Bhojnalaya at Adhkwari, roughly halfway along the 12-km trek to the hilltop shrine. The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board suspended the yatra as rescue operations, involving the Army, NDRF, and Shrine Board staff, were launched to save those trapped under debris.
The administration has evacuated scores of families from low-lying villages along the Tawi and Chenab rivers in Jammu district, relocating them to safer locations. Dozens of marooned individuals, including students and staff, were rescued from areas such as Belicharana, Chatha, SKUAST complex, Karnaile Chak, Chuhe Chak, Barjala, Lalyal, Khandwal, and Makwal, as well as other hamlets on Tawi Island.
Several Border Security Force (BSF) posts in Makwal were submerged, forcing personnel to relocate to safer areas. Villages in Pargwal, Jourian, Khour, and Hamirpur Kona were also evacuated as the Chenab River flowed 10 to 13 feet above its danger mark.
Scores of houses and structures have been damaged due to flooding in these rivers.Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the situation as “quite serious” and announced he would travel from Srinagar to Jammu to personally oversee relief efforts. He has allocated additional funds to Deputy Commissioners for emergency restoration and other exigencies. The Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered the closure of all educational institutions and non-essential offices, issued district-wise helpline numbers, and urged residents to avoid riverbanks and landslide-prone areas. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall across Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, Poonch, Udhampur, Ramban, Doda, and Kishtwar, with risks of cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides persisting until August 27.As rescue and relief operations continue amidst challenging conditions, the region remains on high alert, bracing for further impacts from this historic deluge.
