The UT Government’s decision to launch a comprehensive Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) following the devastating rains, flash floods, cloudbursts and landslides between August 14 and September 5 is not merely an administrative exercise-it is an essential, scientific and urgently needed intervention. With 152 precious lives lost and widespread damage to public and private infrastructure, the monsoon of 2025 has once again exposed the fragility of Jammu & Kashmir’s physical landscape and the vulnerabilities embedded in its socio-economic fabric. This year, the monsoon’s fury did not spare either plains or hills. Urban centres witnessed submerged colonies, collapsing infrastructure and paralysed mobility, all dramatically captured by electronic media stationed at every corner. The ubiquitous presence of cameras ensured that city-level losses received immediate highlight, but the same cannot be said of remote and mountainous regions. Many far-flung areas, some still cut off today, suffered damage of equal or even greater magnitude-roads washed away for kilometres, bridges vanishing into torrents, homes reduced to rubble, and agricultural land scarred beyond recognition. In some districts, limited technical staff and inaccessibility meant that actual losses were never fully recorded in the chaotic early days. As a result, the first-round assessments were inevitably incomplete.
It is in this context that the PDNA becomes indispensable. A rigorous, scientific and fully coordinated evaluation-supported by NDMA experts-allows the UT Government to capture the true scale of devastation across sectors: housing, livelihoods, health facilities, schools, public buildings, water supply, sanitation, power, agriculture, horticulture, livestock, environment, tourism, and more. Crucially, this assessment goes beyond counting losses. It seeks to quantify the socio-economic impact-how people’s lives, incomes, mobility, access to essential services and long-term opportunities have been disrupted. The socio-economic strain in the aftermath of the disaster has been immense. With roads severed, people in many areas are forced to take arduous detours to reach offices, hospitals or schools. Transporting essential commodities has become costlier and slower, burdening already stretched household budgets. In some pockets, students are cut off from schools, patients from healthcare, and farmers from markets. These hidden costs seldom find mention in preliminary surveys but have long-term implications for recovery and resilience. The PDNA’s multidisciplinary nature ensures that these lived realities are also taken into account.
Equally important is the fact that enough time has passed since the floods for all genuine damage claims-even those missed in initial surveys-to have reached district offices. This means the PDNA, conducted now, will be more holistic, incorporating both the reported and the previously unrecorded losses. Local populations, who know the terrain and its vulnerabilities better than any outsider, will play a crucial role. Their insights into hidden channels, unstable slopes, frequently submerged zones or structural weaknesses provide invaluable ground intelligence. Combined with expert technical assessment, this creates a reliable, community-validated picture of the disaster’s aftermath.
Another significant value of this assessment lies in prioritisation. With winter setting in, especially in the snow-bound zones, the working window for reconstruction is narrow. The administration must know what to rebuild first, which locations need reinforcement before snowfall, and where immediate livelihood restoration is necessary to prevent long-term impoverishment. A data-backed prioritisation matrix will save time, prevent resource misallocation and ensure that the most vulnerable are not left behind.
Most importantly, the PDNA aligns with “build back better” and long-term disaster risk reduction principles. J&K cannot afford recurring catastrophic losses. The region’s climate vulnerabilities-cloudbursts, intense rainfall, glacial changes-are only increasing. Prevention now requires systemic interventions: slope stabilisation, drainage redesign, resilient road engineering, river training works, relocation from high-risk zones, and strict urban planning reforms. The PDNA will provide a blueprint not just to rebuild what was lost, but to rebuild stronger, safer and smarter.
People need help, and they need it now. A robust PDNA ensures that assistance reaches them on time, in the right measure, and for the right purpose. It ensures that reconstruction is not a patchwork of quick fixes but a strategic, well-planned revival of infrastructure and livelihoods. This will be a journey from devastation to recovery, a foundation for rebuilding lives, restoring hope and safeguarding the future of Jammu & Kashmir.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
