Rain continues to lash Himalayan region: Floods in J-K, 400 roads shut in HP
Jammu logs its second-highest August rainfall in a century, while parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are also affected by landslides and road closures
Heavy rain battered most parts of Jammu and Kashmir overnight Saturday (August 23), triggering flood-like situation in several low-lying areas and causing damage to a vital bridge on the Jammu-Pathankot national highway.
In neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, 400 roads, including two national highways, have been closed for vehicular traffic as moderate to heavy rains continue to lash parts of the state.
Record rain in Jammu
Jammu recorded 190.4 mm rainfall in the past 24 hours ending 8.30 am Sunday, the second-highest downpour in August in a century. The highest rainfall for August remains 228.6 mm, logged on August 5, 1926 while the previous second-highest was 189.6 mm on August 11, 2022.
Authorities have issued advisories asking people to stay away from water bodies and landslide-prone areas amid a weather forecast predicting moderate to intense rainfall with possibility of cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides in high altitude areas till August 27.
Also read: Himachal grapples with incessant rain; yellow warning issued, 339 roads shut
Students evacuated
In Jammu, at least 45 students of the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) were evacuated to safety in a joint operation by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and police after floodwaters submerged the ground floor of the hostel complex.
SDRF and police deployed manpower equipped with boats to reach out the students after more than seven feet of water from the overflowing canal entered their hostel buildings on Sunday morning.
News agency PTI quoted officials in the know as saying that the rescue operation continued for more than five hours and all the trapped students were evacuated to safety.
Dr Zabeer Ahmed, the Director of IIIM, an autonomous body under the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), said the institute has made arrangements for the safe stay of the students.
Walls damaged
The heavy downpour led streams and drains to overflow, leading to inundation of roads and flood waters entering homes at several places, including Janipur, Roop Nagar, Talab Tilloo, Jewel chowk, New Plot and Sanjay Nagar.
Boundary walls of several houses were also damaged, while nearly a dozen vehicles were swept away in the flash floods, the officials said. A portion of a road adjacent to a temple near Tawi bridge caved in, while a culvert on the exit gate of Jammu bus stand also collapsed owing to the heavy rainfall.
Overflowing streams and drains aggravated the situation in low-lying areas in Jammu city where the flood waters entered home, damaging boundary walls at several places and dozens of vehicles.
Also read: Cloudburst in Chamoli, one feared dead; Indian army joins rescue operations
High alert in J-K
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has directed all departments concerned to remain on high alert amid heavy rains.
He has advised people to remain cautious amid a weather forecast predicting moderate to intense rainfall with possibility of cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides in high altitude areas till August 27.
An official of the traffic department said the strategic 250-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway and 434-km Srinagar-Leh national highway is open for traffic despite heavy rains, while the Mughal road connecting Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu with south Kashmir’s Shopian, and Sinthan road linking Kishtwar and Doda districts in Jammu with south Kashmir’s Anantnag, were closed owing to landslides at different places.
Bridge damaged
A bridge near Logate Morh on Jammu-Pathankot highway was damaged in the middle due to overflowing of Sahar Khad nallah following heavy rains in Kathua district, the officials said, adding the traffic on the highway was diverted through the alternate bridge.
Officials said water levels in major rivers and streams, including Basantar in Samba, Ujh and Ravi in Kathua, Chenab in Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban and Jammu and Tawi in Udhampur and Jammu rose sharply, prompting the administration to put disaster response teams and local police on alert.
So far, there have been no immediate reports of casualties, but the rains have triggered landslides at several places in Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region and Gurez in north Kashmir, the officials said.
Also read: Kishtwar cloudburst: Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia announced; people angry over rescue work
Himachal roads closed
In Himachal, 400 roads, including two national highways, have been closed for vehicular traffic as moderate to heavy rains continue to lash parts of the state.
Among these, 221 roads were closed in Mandi district and 102 in the adjoining Kullu. National Highway 3 (Mandi-Dharampur road) and NH 305 (Aut-Sainj road) were also closed, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.
According to officials, 208 power supply transformers and 51 water supply schemes were disrupted in the state.
The local meteorological office has issued a yellow warning for heavy rain in isolated areas of two to seven districts in the state till August 30.
A vehicle damaged in heavy rain at Tharali of Chamoli district in Uttarakhand on Sunday | PTI Photo
Uttarakhand: Aid promise from Dhami
In Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced that the state government will arrange for the treatment of the injured and provide financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the families of those who died and for damaged homes in disaster-affected areas.
These instructions were given as he reviewed the relief and rescue operations following the heavy rains in Chamoli district’s Tharali, during a meeting at the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) on Saturday night.
During heavy rains on Friday night, debris spread over a large area due to the flood in the Toonri rain drain in Tharali, due to which a 20-year-old girl died, while another person went missing.
In the incident, the Tharali Tehsil office, Sub-Divisional Magistrate residence, several houses, and shops were damaged while 150 people were evacuated.
Also read: Jammu and Kashmir flashfloods: Rescue operations continue for third day
Dhami orders dredging of rivers
To reduce the loss of life and property due to such disasters in the future, Dhami called for dredging (removal of sand, gravel, stones from the river bed) or channelisation in all such rivers of the state that have settlements on their banks.
Stating that a large amount of debris and boulders came with the water in all three disasters at Dharali, Tharali, and Syanachatti, the chief minister said that it is necessary to assess the volume of moraine (debris deposited by glaciers) in the high Himalayan regions.
For this, he directed the formation of a high-level team of scientists from research institutes like Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), and National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) to conduct a study.
He also indicated that he would request the Central Government to conduct such a study across the Himalayan states to better understand the causes of these disasters and strengthen future disaster response efforts.
(With agency inputs)