Jammu/Katra: In a devastating reminder of nature’s unpredictable wrath, Jammu and Kashmir has been battered by torrential rains, flash floods, and catastrophic landslides, leaving at least 34 people dead and 23 injured.
The tragedy struck hardest on the sacred Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra track near Ardhkumari in Katra, where a massive landslide tore through the mountainside on Wednesday, reducing a section of the revered pilgrimage route to rubble.
With rescue operations continuing amid heavy rain, officials fear that more victims remain buried beneath the debris.
This calamity has left the Union Territory in turmoil, exposing its fragile infrastructure and pushing rescue agencies to the brink.
A Region Under Siege by the Elements
The unrelenting downpour, which began earlier this week, has transformed the picturesque Jammu hills into a nightmare.
By Tuesday afternoon, Jammu recorded a staggering 22 cm of rain within just six hours, one of the heaviest rainfall events in recent memory.
The skies unleashed their fury without respite, triggering a chain reaction of landslides, bridge collapses, and power outages, with vast swathes of the region left paralyzed.
Another deadly landslide earlier Tuesday had already claimed nine lives and injured 21 others along the same Vaishno Devi shrine route.
Officials say the mountain slope gave way with terrifying force, sending rocks and mud crashing down and leaving the pilgrimage path in ruins.
“This is devastation on a scale we have not witnessed in years,” said a senior disaster response officer, adding that rescue teams are “racing against time” as fresh landslides loom.
A Communication Blackout Amid the Storm
Even as rescue teams—comprising the Army, NDRF, SDRF, police, and local volunteers—work tirelessly, Jammu and Kashmir is grappling with an unprecedented telecom and power blackout.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, in a brief message posted on X, said he is “still struggling with almost non-existent communication,” describing the situation as “frustrating” with apps barely loading and calls failing to connect.
Officials confirmed that mobile towers and electric poles snapped like twigs, cutting off millions from the outside world. Internet services have slowed to a crawl, worsening the crisis and delaying coordination for relief missions.
Evacuations and Military Mobilization
More than 3,500 residents have been evacuated from low-lying areas of Jammu and Samba, with dozens of villages submerged under muddy floodwaters.
Distress calls flooded the district control rooms, prompting the military to deploy helicopter assets, including Chinooks and Mi-17 V5s.C-1300 anIL-7676 transport aircraft have been loaded with relief material and emergency supplies from Hindon Airbase.
The Jhelum River has crossed the danger mark of 22 feet near Sangam in South Kashmir, prompting a flood alert.
Entire neighborhoods now resemble inland seas, with residents clambering onto rooftops, waiting for boats and rescue teams.
Transport in Tatters: Flights and Trains Cancelled
The weather chaos has left the region virtually cut off. Leh Airport operations were paralyzed, with multiple flight cancellations and diversions, while Delhi Airport issued travel advisories urging passengers to check flight statuses.
Northern Railways has cancelled 22 trains and short-terminated 27 others at stations including Firozpur, Pathankot, and Chak Rakhwalan.
Train services between Pathankot and Kandrori in Himachal Pradesh have been suspended following heavy soil erosion near the Chakki River.
Despite these disruptions, limited rail movement continues on the Katra-Srinagar route, though officials warn that conditions remain precarious.
Schools Closed, Life Comes to a Standstill
In response to the ongoing disaster, schools across the Jammu division have been shut until August 27, and the J&K Board of School Education has postponed Class 10 and 11 examinations.
Entire towns and villages are now waterlogged, with submerged roads, broken bridges, and electricity outages further deepening the crisis.
In areas like RS Pura, Samba, Akhnoor, Nagrota, Kot Bhalwal, Bishnah, and Vijaypur, floodwaters have risen rapidly, leaving thousands stranded.
A Storm of Rare Intensity
Meteorologists say the storm system over Jammu and Kashmir is among the most powerful in recent memory.
Cloud tops have soared 12 km into the sky, indicating extremely active thunderstorms that continue to drift east-northeast.
Heavy rainfall is expected to persist in hill districts, including Ramban, Doda, Reasi, and Banihal, worsening the situation for relief efforts.
“This is nature’s fury at its most unforgiving,” said a senior IMD official. “We are witnessing intense, localized cloudbursts and landslides that are overwhelming the region’s infrastructure.”
A Region on Edge
For residents of Jammu and Kashmir, this disaster has exposed the limits of preparedness in a region already prone to natural calamities.
As helicopters hover overhead and rescue teams scour through rubble, many fear that recovery will take months, if not years.
“This is no longer just a weather event—it is a humanitarian crisis,” said a local NGO volunteer coordinating relief in Samba district.
“Entire families have been swept away, and entire neighborhoods are without power or water. We need urgent help.”
#JammuKashmirFloods #VaishnoDeviLandslide #NatureFury #FlashFloods #DisasterInJammu #RescueOperations #JammuKashmirRain #InfrastructureCollapse #ClimateDisaster #ExtremeWeather