Jammu and Kashmir is reeling under the impact of relentless rainfall, with yet another cloudburst reported on Tuesday, August 26. The authorities have also temporarily suspended the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi yatra as the weather conditions continue to remain dangerous. The latest incident comes after similar events in Kishtwar and Kathua in recent days. At least three people have died till now, two of them are in Gandhor and one is in the Thathri subdivision. Fifteen residential houses have been damaged, and some cow sheds have also been damaged too.
Authorities have sounded a red alert in Jammu after the Tawi River’s water level rose sharply, crossing the danger mark. Residents along low-lying areas and riverbanks have been advised to remain vigilant and prepare for possible evacuation if water levels continue to rise.
“The situation is many parts of Jammu province is quite serious. I’ll be taking the next available flight from Srinagar to Jammu to personally monitor the developing situation. In the mean time instructions have been issued to place additional funds at the disposal of the DCs to cover emergency restoration work and other exigences,” CM Omar Abdullah’s post on X reads.
In neighbouring Doda district, continuous downpours have triggered landslides, mudslides, and shooting stones, causing widespread disruption. Several link roads have been blocked, while key stretches of the national highway remain closed, leaving many areas cut off.
Deputy Commissioner Harvinder Singh said, “It has been raining continuously for three days… Especially in the areas of the Chenab River… Reports of cloud bursts have come from two places… NH 244 has also been washed away in a cloud burst. Our team is busy restoring that.”
“A private health centre has been damaged. Three footbridges have been washed away… The highest flood level of the Chenab River is 900 feet, and currently it has already reached 899.3 meters, so there is a difference of one and a quarter meters. The way it is raining, we are expecting that the HFL will be breached. We have limited the movement of people near the Chenab River and on the roads adjacent to the Chenab River. People have been shifted and they have been shifted to safe locations,” adds Singh.