Cloudburst and Landslide Ravage Jammu & Kashmir, 10 Dead and Thousands Evacuated

Kashmir: Continuous torrential rains wreaked havoc in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, leaving at least 10 people dead in separate tragedies of a cloudburst and a landslide. Rescue teams have been pressed into service as authorities brace for more rain-related emergencies.

In Ramban district, a sudden cloudburst in the hilly Rajgarh region unleashed flash floods that swept away homes and farmland. Three lives were lost in the incident, while two people remain missing. Officials confirmed that several houses sustained severe damage as gushing waters cut through the remote settlement, nearly 25 kilometres from Ramban town.

Tragedy struck again in Reasi district where a massive landslide buried seven members of a family in Badder village of Mahore. Locals and rescue workers rushed to the spot, but persistent rainfall and loose soil conditions hampered efforts to retrieve the victims.

The fresh incidents add to the toll of rain-related destruction in the region. Over the past week, Jammu and Kashmir has been battered by extreme weather. More than 45 people have died in different accidents linked to heavy rains, including a major landslide near Adhkunwari on the Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrimage route that claimed the lives of dozens of devotees on August 26.

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh personally visited flood-hit stretches along the Udhampur highway to assess the situation, while Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary supervised ongoing relief efforts in the affected districts. According to official data, more than 12,000 residents have been evacuated to safer areas as part of emergency rescue operations.