At least seven residents in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district died and 17 were injured on Wednesday after a cloudburst triggered flash floods in a remote village that swept away six homes and a ration depot, reported PTI.
The cloudburst occurred over Honzar village in Dachhan tehsil around 4.30 am on Wednesday, an official said. At least 60 families were evacuated to safety from the Paddar area as continuous rain posed a risk to them.
In the evening, a cloudburst was reported near the Amarnath shrine in central Kashmir, according to India Today. No casualties have been reported.
Meanwhile, the official said that a search and rescue operation by the police, the Army and the State Disaster Response Force was underway to locate over 14 residents who are still missing. The official added that the condition of five rescued residents was stated to be critical.
One State Disaster Response Fund team from Kishtwar district has reached the village and two more teams were arriving from Doda and Udhampur districts, reported PTI, citing Director General of Police-cum-Commandant General Home Guard, Civil Defence and SDRF, VK Singh.
He added that two more SDRF teams were waiting for the weather to improve before they join the rescue efforts.
Most of the Jammu region has been receiving heavy rain for the past few days.
“The meteorological department has predicted heavy rains during the upcoming days and water levels in rivers and drains are expected to rise, which can pose a threat to the inhabitants residing near rivers, drains, water bodies and slide-prone areas,” the district authority said in an advisory on Tuesday night, reported PTI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the central government was closely monitoring the situation. “All possible assistance is being made available in the affected areas,” he tweeted. “I pray for everyone’s safety and well-being.”
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he spoke to police officers and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in the Union Territory. “Our priority is to save as many lives as possible,” he tweeted. Sinha said that he was continuously monitoring the situation in the region, according to ANI.
In a tweet, Sinha said that Shah has assured all possible help from the central government. “The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by unfortunate natural calamity,” he tweeted.
His office announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for the family of those who died due to the cloudburst, ANI reported. Those injured will get an amount of Rs 50,000 each.
“Relief under SDRF for loss of houses, utensils, clothing, household goods, cattle, cattle shed, loss of agricultural land will also be provided by deputy commissioner, Kishtwar,” Sinha’s office added.
The officials also said that floods have been reported from Machail, Paddar and Bunjwah areas in the district. District Development Commissioner Ashok Kumar Sharma said that two cloudbursts hit the Lambard area overnight but no loss of life was reported. He added that some infrastructure might be damaged but details are awaited.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said he was monitoring the situation.
Peoples Democratic Party leader Firdous Tak expressed shock at the incident and called for intensifying the rescue operation to save lives.
Himachal Pradesh
About 10 people were reportedly missing in flash floods triggered by a cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul-Spiti district, a senior disaster management officer told PTI on Wednesday.
The incident occurred in Udaipur in Lahaul around 8 pm on Tuesday, State Disaster Management Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said. Two tents of workers have been swept away, he added.
A 19-year-old labourer, identified as Mohammad Altaaf, suffered injuries while about 10 people remain missing.
The state police and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police teams had been deployed for rescue missions, but a heavy water flow hampered the operation on Tuesday night, Mokhta said. The search operation was resumed on Wednesday morning.
The Shimla District Disaster Management Authority said that a landslide had occurred on the Vikas Nagar-Panthaghati road. But no losses were reported apart from some damages to a car, reported ANI.
In Tozing Nullah in Udaipur sub-division of Lahaul Spiti district, one person was killed, another was injured, and nine were missing after flash floods on Tuesday night, Superintendent of Police Manav Verma told the news agency.
Maharashtra and other states
The toll due to heavy rain that triggered landslides and floods in Maharashtra rose to 207, with 15 additional deaths recorded on Tuesday morning, reported The Indian Express.
As of Tuesday morning, as many as 51 people had been injured, and 11 were reported missing.
Extremely heavy rain have caused flooding or landslides in districts like Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur.
So far, the state government said that 3,75,178 people have been evacuated, with the highest number (2,06,619) rescued from Sangli district, followed by 1,50,365 residents of Kolhapur.
Meanwhile, Delhi recorded 100 mm rainfall in three hours on Tuesday, reported NDTV. The India Meteorological Department said this was the highest amount of rainfall in July that Delhi has seen since 2003.
In July 2003, the city had recorded about 632 mm of rain. This year, it has registered 380.9 mm so far.
Gurugram received 68 mm of rain in four hours, leading to waterlogged streets and traffic congestion.
The monsoon season has also caused extreme weather conditions in Karnataka. Several other parts of the country are also receiving heavy rain, including Gujarat and West Bengal.
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