Death toll rises to 18 as flash floods, landslides wreak havoc in J&K

📌 Summary:

• At least 18 people, including several children, were killed after overnight heavy rain triggered flash floods and landslides in the early hours of Sunday in the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir

• A large number of vehicles were swept away and several residential and commercial buildings damaged

• Sixteen deaths occurred in Poonch district alone — 15 of them in the Surankote area (eight in Murrah, four in Sangla, and one each at Sanglani, Marhote and Dogrian Buffliaz); Rajouri town saw large-scale property damage

• One woman, 28-year-old Nazia Kousar, died in the Noon Bandi area near Poonch town when her house collapsed; her husband and three children aged between two and six were rescued from the debris

• Man-made vulnerability — the Rajouri bus stand case: around 50 private vehicles parked at the Bela Colony bus stand were washed away. According to locals the bus stand, made operational in November 2024, was BUILT ON A MOUND IN A RIVER that had been dry for a few decades. The river flooded on Sunday from nullahs coming from the Darhal and Thanamandi sides, submerging the bus stand and sweeping away vehicles parked overnight

• A local official noted the death toll there was not higher only because no one was present at the bus stand when the flooding occurred

• Response: CM Omar Abdullah, who had gone to New Delhi to sit on dharna at Jantar Mantar demanding restoration of statehood for J&K, said he would return to Jammu in view of the disaster; SDRF, police and other agencies were engaged in relief and rescue

• Lt Governor Manoj Sinha said affected families had been moved to safety, all departments were on high alert, and immediate relief and repair work was being prioritised

• Pilgrimage to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi and Shiv Khori shrines in Reasi district was temporarily suspended as link roads were blocked by landslides

• Cascading risk from dam operations: authorities in Jammu division sounded an alert after a sharp rise in the Chenab river and other streams. All gates of the Salal Hydroelectric Project in Reasi remained open for a second consecutive day as part of reservoir flushing, significantly increasing Chenab discharge; in Ramban district police issued an advisory after gates of the Baglihar Hydroelectric Project were also opened

• Police teams were deployed in villages along the Chenab in Reasi using public address systems to warn residents to stay away from the river and keep children and livestock from its banks; the administration cautioned that water levels may rise suddenly due to continued dam discharge

• Rainfall data (IMD, last 24 hours, Jammu region): Reasi 106.5 mm, Rajouri 103 mm, Udhampur 101.6 mm, Katra 85 mm, Poonch 77 mm, Batote 57.2 mm, Ramban 9 mm

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 (Disaster Management) — flash floods and landslides in Himalayan terrain, the role of unsafe construction in river beds in converting a hazard into a disaster, dam-operation risk communication, and the SDRF/state machinery response. Links to GS1 Geography on monsoon behaviour and Himalayan drainage.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Affected districts: Poonch and Rajouri (border districts of the Jammu division), with alerts in Reasi and Ramban

• Salal and Baglihar are hydroelectric projects on the Chenab river; Salal is in Reasi and Baglihar in Ramban district

• Reservoir flushing is the process of opening dam gates to flush accumulated silt, which sharply raises downstream discharge

• Shri Mata Vaishno Devi and Shiv Khori shrines are in Reasi district

• Highest 24-hour rainfall recorded: Reasi 106.5 mm

• SDRF = State Disaster Response Force

🔑 Key Term: Flash Flood — a sudden, high-velocity flood generated within a few hours of intense rainfall in a small or steep catchment, characteristic of Himalayan and hilly terrain. Its danger comes from the very short lead time between rainfall and peak flow, which limits warning and evacuation, and it is greatly worsened where construction has encroached on dry river beds and natural drainage channels.