J&K: At least 11 people, including seven members of a single family, lost their lives after landslides and a cloudburst struck Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi and Ramban districts following relentless rainfall.
In Reasi’s Mahore area, tragedy struck Baddar village when a massive landslide buried the home of Nazir Ahmad, 38. Ahmad, his wife, and their five children—aged between five and thirteen—were killed instantly as their house crumbled under mud and debris. Rescue teams later recovered all the bodies from the wreckage.
A separate calamity unfolded in Rajgrah village of Ramban district, where a cloudburst near a school triggered flash floods and landslides. Five residents were swept away. Among the victims identified are Om Raj, Vidhiya Devi, and Dwarka Nath, while search operations continue for one missing person. Several homes in the area have also been damaged.
The incidents add to the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Union Territory, where extreme weather in recent weeks has already claimed more than 160 lives, many of them pilgrims.
The devastation has crippled essential infrastructure. Train services between Katra and the rest of the country remain suspended for the fifth consecutive day. The crucial Srinagar–Jammu National Highway, lifeline to the Valley, is closed due to large-scale destruction at multiple points, with no clear timeline for reopening.
Authorities have ordered all government and private schools across the Jammu division to remain closed until August 30. Institutions have been asked to explore online classes for senior students wherever possible, provided internet access and facilities allow.
Amid the crisis, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reviewed the situation and voiced deep concern over the extent of the damage caused by just two days of continuous rain. Drawing comparisons with the catastrophic 2014 floods, he warned that the region had narrowly escaped disaster on a similar scale.
“If the downpour had continued for another day or more, the outcome could have been far worse,” Abdullah said, stressing the urgent need to review flood preparedness. “We must evaluate what was done after 2014 and identify shortcomings. We cannot continue to live under constant fear of such calamities.”
