Several roads blocked, houses collapse
*Heli service to Mata Vaishnodevi suspended
Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Aug 12: Heavy rains lashed various districts of the Jammu region, triggering flash floods that damaged several structures/ houses and led to the closure of several inter-district roads today.
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Chenab, Tawi, Basantar, Tarnah and Ujh rivers were over flooded during the day today while a JCB washed away in river Basantar near Samba this evening. Kathua-Basohli and Billawar roads via Mahanpur were blocked after massive landslide near Basantpur. Traffic on Dayala Chak and Billawar road also remained suspended due to flood in Nallahs.
Authorities in Rajouri, Reasi and Poonch districts have ordered closure of all the schools in view of the inclement weather conditions.
Significant rainfall was recorded during past 24 hours at various places in the region on Tuesday, a Meteorological department official said.
Reasi recorded the highest rainfall at 284 mm, followed by 204.2 mm in Katra, 166 mm in Udhampur, 199 mm in Kathua, 102 mm in Samba and 94.4 mm in Jammu.
The rain triggered flash floods, landslides and mudslides in various places. In Jammu city also, water logging on many roads affected movement of traffic. The water from big drains and Nallahs entered many houses in the city areas causing damage to the public property. However, no casualties have been reported till this evening in the region, the officials said.
Two houses on the banks of the Tawi river in Belicharana area of Jammu were partially washed away by the flash floods, forcing police and SDRF men to warn people living along the river bank to not go near it.
Several temporary structures/ Kullahs for keeping cattle were vacated in the Nikki Tawi area.
Part of a school in the Surankote area of Poonch district was severely damaged after the flash floods struck during the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, an official said.
The flash floods swept away a 200-ft-long shed adjacent to a school and a sports room, destroying all records and sports items. There were no casualties in the incident, the official said.
In Jaglanoo area of Rajouri, a cowshed collapsed, causing loss of livestock. The rain also caused multiple road blockages across the district, disrupting vehicular movement in several areas.
The Kotranka-Khawas road has been closed at Kanja, while the Rajouri-Thannamandi-Surankote road remained cut-off following a landslide between Dera Gali and Bufliaz.
The Ghambir Mughlan-Thannamandi road is also blocked at several points, including Bhattian Morh and adjoining stretches, due to debris.
The Jammu-Srinagar highway also experienced traffic jams at Jagti as the road was inundated. The authorities also shut down the Udhampur-Mansar-Samba road following landslides at several places, the official said.
At least half a dozen cattle were washed away in the flash floods in Ujh and Tarnah streams in Kathua area.
In Reasi district, a landslide at Kandamorh in Pouni tehsil blocked the road this morning. The road was, however, cleared afer 2-3 hours.
Continuous rainfall since Monday night has led to a rise in water levels of rivers and streams in the region.
The authorities have issued an alert, urging people to stay away from water bodies.
The swollen Chenab river in Reasi washed away a crucial road patch at Gupt Kashi. In order to manage the rising water levels, the gates of the Salal Dam were opened for controlled water discharge downstream, the officials said.
Chopper service to Mata Vaishnodevi shrine remained suspended today and even the battery car did not operate due to bad weather. The yatra was allowed on the old route only.
Deputy Commissioner Poonch, Ashok Sharma, who was supervising the Government efforts to tackle the flood situation, said the administration is fully prepared to tackle the situation.
Meanwhile, Meteorological department has forecast rain and thunderstorms across many parts of the Jammu division from August 12 to 15, with chances of heavy rain at some places. It advised residents to stay alert and follow weather advisories.
It said from August 12-15 the weather will generally remain cloudy with light to moderate rain/thundershowers at many places with possibility of heavy to very heavy rain at isolated to scattered places of Jammu division including areas like Reasi, Udhampur, Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Doda and Rajouri; mainly towards night/early morning hours.
A few places of Kashmir Division may also receive moderate showers with brief intense showers/ gusty winds.
From August 16 to 17, the weather will generally remain hot and humid with possibility of brief showers at few places. From August 18 to 19 fresh spell of light to moderate rain at many places with heavy rain at few places of Jammu region is expected. The weatherman predicted flash floods at few vulnerable places with landslides/mudslides and shooting stones and advised people to stay away from water bodies/river embankments/ streams etc.
Reports from Rajouri said that continuous rainfall over the past 24 hours has triggered multiple landslides across the district, severely affecting road connectivity and vehicular movement in several areas.
Vehicular traffic remained suspended on the Thannamandi–DKG–Surankote stretch following a series of landslides between DKG and Danar, causing significant inconvenience to commuters and locals. In Darhal, a landslide on the Rakiban–Malhut bridge link road has disrupted traffic movement, cutting off access to adjoining villages.
Similarly, the Ghambir Mughlan–Thannamandi Road witnessed multiple blockages, including at Bhattian Morh and nearby locations, halting transportation and emergency travel. In Khawas area, the Oudhan road was closed due to a landslide coupled with falling trees, adding to the disruption in rural connectivity.
An early morning landslide was also reported near Chowki Choura along the Jammu–Rajouri–Poonch National Highway, temporarily impacting highway traffic. Reports indicated that a graveyard in Thannamandi suffered considerable damage due to the landsliding.
In a separate incident, the house and cattle shed of Rashpal Singh, son of Late Baldev Singh, resident of Jaglanoo, Kotranka, collapsed due to the continuous downpour, resulting in loss of property and livestock.
Authorities have deployed men and machinery at various locations to restore road connectivity and clear debris. The district administration has appealed to the public to avoid unnecessary travel on affected routes until clearance operations are completed.
Heavy rainfall from late night resulted several damages in district Poonch. The land and mudslide occurred at many places has posed threat to several houses/ structures and rioads.
Official sources said that flash flood in Sanai Nallah followed by heavy rainfall damaged wall and sports room of Government High School Sanai in Surankote, while a link road was also damaged which connects to Jammu-Poonch highway at the same place.
SDM Surankote Farooq Khan Nazki along with other officials visited on spot. Giving details, he said that they have diverted the water of Nallah which was flowing towards the school so that more damage may not occur, while 15-20 houses near the roads at Potha, Buffliaz, Daraba are in danger as they may get hit by landslide if there is more rainfall.
Meanwhile, families have been kept on alert, some goods were shifted so that they may relocate to neighbours houses, while lanslide occured on Buffliaz Thannamandi road near DKG as well.
Tehsildar Haveli, Azhar Majid said that there were some landslides on few roads which were cleared timely, while few houses are in danger of landslide here as well, one family has been shifted but fortunately no major loss has been reported during this rainfall here.
The rains in Samba since Monday evening have taken a violent form and caused damage at many places. Due to heavy rains, the road remained closed for about 12 hours due to landslides at two places on the Samba-Mansar Udhampur road.
With the help of the administration, the road was made operational for small vehicles at around 4 pm this evening. Landslides and trees had fallen on the road near Papad Morh and near Bindu Da Beda due to which the road remained blocked for traffic. Many areas have been affected by the floods caused by rain in the Sumb area. With this, the road from Sumb to Goran was also closed for about 14 hours, which was restored around 6 pm.
The road from Goran to Sodam village was closed till the time of writing the news, and JCB machines are continuously working to restore it. The boundary wall of the Govt Higher Secondary School located in Sumb also collapsed, although no child or anyone else has been injured in this incident. The boundary walls of two houses collapsed in Sumb area. Near Jalapar village, the electric poles on the roadside fell down, which were cleared by the local people by pushing them back from the road. The flood and rain water entered the houses of people in Ward No. 13 Chak Manga Rakwal of Samba. The people of the area later held protest. The protesters later met Deputy Commissioner Samba Ayushi Sudan. She assured that soon she will visit the area and try to resolve this issue.
In Kathua also, rain caused havoc since morning. Ujh , Ravi and Tarnah rivers were over flooded and caused land erosion. Lakhanpur- Basohli and Billawar , besides Bani and Taggar roads road remained blocked during the day today due to land slides and flood in Sukka Nallah. The power supply to many areas of the district has been affected.
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